Ml 



w 



■I 

i ll 



m 



m 



hi 

bIIIh 












































% 






y j 



^ 















c 



■ 



'^- ** 









^ = 






•a. <£ 



^- / 



* .'\ 












,G* 






& 



i> ^ 



V 








■5> * 



> ^'* - 



v 






f\ .v ,,i y.«' 

\ * w 



> . -;, \V 









-^ '^°\<V- ***?, '^ 



V %^ 



> *w 

























5> _ * 



A. .n C /-. - A 



i 00 ^. 




§m 



















-^M^SfmWm' 







LONDON : 

PRINTED BY RICHARD CLAY, 

BREAD STREET HILL. 



f ; 






TO 



HER EXCELLENCY 



THE MABCHIONESS OF NOKMANBY 



THE AUTHORS 



HAVE THE HONOUR TO DEDICATE 



€§w gfotae, 



DESCRIBING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DISTRICT OF A COUNTRY 



IN THE WELFARE OF WHICH 



HER EXCELLENCY 



HAS EVER TAKEN A DEEP AND EARNEST INTEREST. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 




HE Publisher having resolved to convert a portion of 
our Work on " Ireland " into a " Companion to Killarney," 
we have revisited the Lakes, in order to gather, and 
communicate, information concerning all matters with which 
it is necessary to make the Tourist acquainted. We have, 
therefore, studied to obtain such knowledge as may enable us to 
facilitate his progress, and enhance his enjoyment, while visiting 
a district, assuredly more attractive — because more abundant in 
natural beauties— than any other portion of the British Islands. 
Bearing in mind that much of his pleasure will depend upon 
the manner in which he manages his time, and pre-arranges his plans, we have 
not considered any circumstance too trivial for comment, where we believed that 
minute explanation might advance the purpose of the Tourist, who — seeing all of 
the sublime and beautiful that may be seen — aims at obtaining information while 
receiving enjoyment. 

Such information we have arranged as an Appendix ; and the Guide-notes 
brought together at the end of this volume will, we believe, be found to contain 
all the Tourist can require concerning the several routes, lines of road, distances, 
modes of conveyance, hotels, boats, guides, waiters, and all matters connected 
with the expenses of journeys. 

In order to render this very essential part of our Book as accurate as possible, we 
have again visited the Lakes, (in the spring of the year, 1850,) and the statements 
we have to make will be the result of personal examination and inquiry, along the 
whole of the several routes from London to Killarney. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



Although conscious that we have failed in giving the reader more than a limited 
idea of the grandeur and loveliness of the Killarney Lakes, we trust we have 
succeeded in detailing their advantages, so far as to induce many persons to visit 
them who have been, hitherto, accustomed to make annual tours to the Continent. 
Those who require relaxation from labour, or may be advised to seek health 
under the influence of a mild climate, or search for sources of novel and rational 
amusement, or draw from change of scene a stimulus to wholesome excitement, or 
covet acquaintance with the charms of Nature, or wish to study a people full of 
original character, — cannot, we feel assured, project an excursion to any part of 
Europe that will afford so ample a recompense. 

While the Lakes of Killarney hold out strong temptations to the Tourist, 
inducements to the journey are enhanced by the ease and comfort with which it 
may be made. It is not too much to say that the World cannot elsewhere supply 
so rich a fund of enjoyment at so small a cost. 




THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL, 

FROM DRAWINGS BY T. CRESWICK, A.R., AND W. H. BARTLETT. 

PAGE 

1 The Gap of Dunloe to face title. 

2 Dublin Bay 9 

3 Dublin: Sackville Street 13 

4 The Cork River 25 

. 5 Gougane Barra 47 

6 Bantry Bay • 61 

7 Glengariee o 67 

8 Limerick : St. John's Castle 77 

9 Approach to Killarney 129 

10 Torc Cascade 133 

11 The Upper Lake 139 

12 Macgillicuddy's Reeks 113 

13 The Mountains in Dunloe Gap 155 

14 Coome Dhuv: the Black Valley ]61 

15 Old Weir Bridge 167 

16 The Lower and Torc Lake 169 

17 Ross Castle 172 

18 Inniseallen 187 

19 Torc Mountain 193 

20 The Lower Lake 201 



MAPS. 

The Roads erom Cork to Killarney 35 

The Lakes oe Killarney 109 



ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 



PAGE 

The Title Page 1 

Dublin and its Harbour 13 

Testimonial to George the Eourth 15 

The Dublin University 16 

The Bank of Ireland ib. 

The Birmingham Tower 17 

St. Patrick's Cathedral ........ 18 



page 

Clondalkin Round Tower 19 

Kildare 20 

Dunamase 21 

Holy Cross Abbey 22 

Rock of Cashel ib. 

Cashel 23 

Cork and its Harbour 25 



LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 



Haulbowlen Island 26 

Depot on Rocky Island 27 

Steam Company's Offices, Cork 28 

Anns of the City of Cork ib. 

Doorway, St. Finn Bar 29 

The Wren Boys 31 

The Cemetery, Cork 32 

Blarney Castle 33 

The Flesk Bridge 35 

Bianconi's Car 36 

Covered Jaunting-Car 37 

Inside Jaunting-Car 38 

Outside Jaunting-Car ib. 

Old Car of the Peasant . 39 

Old Irish Road ib. 

Dripsey Castle 41 

The Pooka 43 

Kilcrea Castle 45 

Kilcrea Abhey 46 

Gougane Barra 48 

St. Dolough's Well 49 

St. Ronogue's Well 50 

Keim-an-Eigh 52 

The Church of St. Multose 53 

Kinsale Harbour 54 

Ship-Pool Castle 55 

Dundaneere Castle ib. 

Lough Hyne 57 

Inisherken 58 

Dunanore Castle 59 

Crookhaven ib. 

BantryBay 61 

The Legend-Stone 65 

The Legend-Stone 66 

Cabin of Stones 67 

Cromwell's Bridge 70 

Berehaven 74 

Blackwater Bridge 75 

Castle of Limerick 77 

The Treaty Stone 78 

St. Mary's Church 79 

The Shannon Boat 82 

Mungret Priory 84 

Round Tower at Croom 87 

Cratloe Castle 88 

Ardfert Abbey 91 

Ferriter's Castle 92 

Dingle Bay 93 

Fishing Boats 96 



PAGE 

Carrick-o'-Gunnel 97 

Hill of Shannid 98 

Lough Gur Castle 101 

Church at Holy Cross 102 

Edward and Grace's Bed ib. 

The Mass Rock 103 

Edward's Bed ib. 

Iron Gate at Kilmallock 104 

Ruins at Kilmallock 105 

Ruins at Kilmallock 106 

Tomb at Buttevant ib. 

Kilcoleman Castle 107 

EUlarney Town 109 

Group of Beggars 114 

Beggar-Girl 115 

The Arbutus 120 

The Guide, Sir Richard 127 

View of the Upper Lake 129 

Killarney Mountains 132 

Tore Waterfall 333 

Killaghie Church 134 

Brickeen Bridge 135 

Cottage in Dinis Island ib. 

Mucross Abbey 137 

Entrance to Mucross 138 

The Fire-Place at Mucross ib. 

A Tomb at Mucross 139 

Keeners 140 

The Keener 141 

Shores of the Lakes 143 

Vendor of Goat's Milk 148 

Devil's Punch Bowl 149 

Common Bag-Pipes ..." 151 

Lnion Pipes ib. 

The Islands 155 

Aghadoe 156 

The Gap of Dunloe 160 

The Logan Stone 161 

The Eagle's Nest 164 

Old Weir Bridge 166 

The Cottage at Glena 167 

The Avenue to Mucross 169 

Ross Castle 171 

Ross Castle 173 

The Legend of O'Donaghue 176 

O'Donaghue's Horse 177 

Druidic Remains 195 

Clough-na-Cnddy 200 





^ 



"4 



3 



w^^^ammm 




THE VOYAGE TO IEELAND. 



TEAM-BOATS have done more than either Time or 
Legislation to unite England and Ireland : they 
facilitate intercourse almost as much as a bridge across 
St. George's Channel ; and render the voyage, in summer 
time, little else than a pleasure excursion. Formerly, 
it was a serious business, — of so uncertain a duration 
that not unfrequently weeks were spent between the 
opposite Ports. The " sailing packet " was a small 
schooner; the cabin, usually measuring 20 feet by 12, 
was lined with " berths," a few of which were " curtained off," and 
apportioned to ladies. A miserable paucity of accommodation, and utter indifference 
to the comforts of passengers, made the voyage an intolerable evil, to be endured 
only in cases of absolute necessity. Ireland was, therefore, rarely visited. Under 
such circumstances, it is not surprising that little or no acquaintance existed 
between the two countries, — that England and Ireland were, indeed, almost as 
much strangers to each other, as if the channel that divided them had been as 
broad as the Atlantic. The introduction of steam has made them, as it were, one 
island; the voyage, now, either from Liverpool to Dublin or Belfast, or from 
Bristol to Waterford or Cork, must be regarded as a mere pleasure trip ; while the 
railway to Holyhead, by bringing Dublin within a distance of twelve hours from 
London, has made a visit to Ireland less fatiguing than a journey to Edinburgh. « 
The results of increased facilities for intercourse have been, that prejudices and 
popular errors are passing away from both countries ; that a more just and rational 
estimate has been formed by the one of the other ; that the vast natural resources 
of Ireland have been increased and developed ; and that the moral and social 
condition of the people has been essentially improved. The upper orders of both 
countries have more thoroughly amalgamated, while the humbler classes have still 
more considerably benefited by the change. 

Hitherto, however, although steam has so largely aided in inducing visits from 
Ireland to England, visitors to Ireland from England have not, in the same ratio, 
increased. Happily, many of the causes that produced this evil, exist no more, 

B 



10 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



others are rapidly disappearing, and ere long the current of travel mnst set more 
strongly in this direction. The English will be induced to see and judge for them- 
selves, and no longer incur the reproach of being better acquainted with the 
Continent, than with a country in which they cannot fail to be deeply interested, 
and which holds out to them every temptation the traveller can need ; a people, 
rich in original character, scenery abundant in the wild and beautiful, a cordial and 
hearty welcome for the " stranger," and a degree of safety and security in his 
journeyings, such as he can meet in no other portion of the globe.* Ireland will, 
unquestionably, supply every means of enjoyment that may be obtained in any of 
the Continental kingdoms, and without calling for the sacrifices of money and 
comfort that will inevitably be exacted by the leeches of Germany, France, and 
Italy. Irish civility and hospitality to strangers have been proverbial for ages — 
existing even to a fault. Strangers will find, wherever they go, a ready zeal and 
anxiety, among all classes, to produce a favourable impression in behalf of the 
country ; and in lieu of roguish couriers, insolent douaniers, dirty inns, and people 
courteous only that they may rob with greater certainty and impunity, they will 
encounter a people naturally kind and intelligent, in whom it is impossible not to 
feel interested ; and even where discomfort is to be endured, it will be deprived of 
its character of annoyance by the certainty that every effort has been, or will be, 
exerted to remove it. We shall rejoice if our statements be the means of inducing 
English travellers to direct their course westward, knowing well, that for every new 
visitor, Ireland will obtain a new Friend. 

We have said that facilities for travelling to, and in, Ireland, have of late years 
largely increased ; recently, however, they have been much more augmented : 
a railway conveys the Tourist to Holyhead, in eight hours, and a packet, across the 

* To the " safety," and " security," of travelling in Ireland, it may seem superfluous to refer ; 
but there are many who, in utter ignorance of the country and its people, have formed unaccount- 
ably erroneous opinions on the subject. It may, therefore, be "well to lay peculiar stress upon the 
testimony supplied by every writer concerning the country, and the report of every tourist by 
whom it has been visited. For om*selves, we have never hesitated to make journeys at all hours 
of the day or night, through any part of the Island, upon ordinary jaunting-cars, under the full 
conviction that we were as safe as Ave should have been between Kensington and Hyde Park. It 
is not enough to say that we never encountered insult or injury ; we never met with the smallest 
interruption, incivility, or even discourtesy, that could induce a suspicion that wrong or rudeness 
was intended. During our various wanderings, we have been located at all sorts of " Houses of 
Entertainment ; " from the stately hotel of the city, to the poor " cabaret " of a mountain village ; 
we never lost the value of a shilling by misconduct on the part of those to whom our property 
was entrusted. We should, indeed, ill discharge our duty, if we did not testify, as strongly as 
language enables us to do, to the generosity and honesty of the Irish character. It may be 
judicious to remark, that at no period has the security of travelling in Ireland been more certain 
than it is at this moment. We repeat, therefore, that a safer country for a stranger to travel in 
is not in the world. 



CHOICE OF ROUTE. 11 



Channel, in four hours ; railways also conduct him through several parts of the 
country, and a long way on his route to Killarney. That the railway does not go 
the whole distance to Killarney, some will, perhaps, consider an advantage ; for 
while the journey is an easy one, a few hours must be spent on the ordinary coach- 
road, during which the traveller has leisure and opportunity to look about him ; 
and it may not be a disadvantage that, after he leaves the train, he has to pass 
through a wild and unimproved district, until he arrives at Killarney, the mar- 
vellous beauties of which will be enhanced by contrast with the comparative naked- 
ness and misery he will have encountered on his way.* 

At the present moment especially, the inducements to visit Ireland are more 
than usually many ; one of them, assuredly, is the smallness of the cost at which 
the enjoyment may be purchased ; the English and Irish railway companies have 
combined to bring the expenses of the journey within very narrow limits. The 
details connected with this arrangement will be found in the Appendix. The visit 
of the Queen has been an example to her subjects ; most happily, the agitation for 
" Bepeal " is but a sad theme of History ; poverty and misery are operating in 
Ireland with diminished power ; and the confused condition of the Continent is 
such, that few persons will desire to encounter the annoyances incident to a visit to 
either of the European states. 

Let, therefore, those who are pondering how a week or a month may be most 
pleasantly and most profitably spent, during the Summer or Autumn, consider the 
claims of Ireland, and believe that nowhere can there be found so many. 

The journey to Holyhead it is needless here to describe ; it is, however, some- 
thing to pass through one of the world's wonders — the " Grand Britannia Tubular 
Bridge," — the entrance to and exit from which may be sufficiently examined from 
the carriage-windows. The packets are admirable, and the voyage across is made in 
four hours ; the Bay of Dublin is reached early enough in the evening, to view 
its beauties, and those who have breakfasted in London may sup, in reasonable 

* The traveller will, on the road, meet part of the unfinished railway from Mallow to 
Killarney ; it is "standing still" — for want of funds. We may, perhaps, be permitted to remark, 
that a trifling amount of aid from the public purse would enable the shareholders to complete 
it. It is to be hoped that Government, who last year gave 500,000Z. to the Midland Great 
Western Railway, to enable them to complete their Line to Galway, will not hesitate to advance 
a much smaller, sum (150,000/!. being all that is required) to complete the Line to Killarney, 
which, exclusive of the inducement to Tourists to visit the beautiful scenery of the Lakes, would 
confer vast benefits on the South and West of Ireland, by opening up the wilds of Kerry, and 
in connecting them with the great market of Cork. 

The Grand Juries of Kerry and Cork have offered to guarantee interest, at 3^ per cent, on any 
sum of money the Government will advance for the purpose of making the Railways. This offer 
will, it is hoped, next year secure the completion of the Eailway, especially as the Earl of Claren- 
don has expressed, in the strongest manner, his sense of its importance. 

b2 



12 A WEEK AT KILLAENEY. 



time, in Dublin. Or, if a longer sea voyage be no inconvenience, excellent packets 
from Bristol will convey him to Cork in about twenty hours, and he will see 
one of the most beautiful harbours of the world without departing from the pre- 
scribed route. 

We shall take for granted, that all tourists to Killarney — those who go by Holy- 
head and those who go by Bristol — will visit the City of Cork ; for the latter it is 
the great high-way, and for the former it is but a departure of twenty miles 
(railway miles, by which no extra expense is incurred) out of his road. 

In this book, therefore, the traveller will first obtain a glimpse of Dublin, (much 
of which may be seen in a day,) and be conducted to Cork ; from which city he 
will select one of the several routes at his command. The route through Dublin 
is on many accounts to be recommended : his destination will be reached as soon as 
if he voyaged direct to Cork ; his interest and pleasure will be enhanced by visiting 
the capital of Ireland ; he will see much of the country on his journey to the 
south ; and his travelling will be very little, either by sea or land, except that which 
is taken by railway. 

The South-western Railway commences in one of the suburbs of Dublin, about a 
mile from the centre of the city. It is now completed to Cork, and Limerick, and 
Carlow, and is, with its branches to the two last-mentioned towns, 188 miles in 
length. There is no railway in the kingdom better managed in all respects : the 
line is the middle gauge : the carriages are roomy and exceedingly comfortable ; 
the attendance at the several stations prompt and active ; and the several station- 
houses are models of architectural beauty on a small scale ;. while the great station 
at the terminus in Dublin, as a public building, ranks with those fine structures 
which have made the city famous. The several objects of interest on the line 
between Dublin and Cork, will be noticed in the first chapter of this Work. 

With these introductory remarks, referring to the Appendix for the several 
" business details," we first conduct the Tourist into the Bay of Dublin. 




UBLIN AND ITS HARBOUR. 



Dublin is the capital city of Ireland. There are 
few cities in the world, and, perhaps, none in Great 
Britain, so auspiciously situated. The ocean rolls 
its waves within ten miles of the quays; the Bay is 
at once safe, commodious, and magnificent, with 
every variety of coast, from the soft beach of sand 
to the rough sea promontory, — from the undulating 
slope to the terrific rock ; and several lighthouses 
guide the vessels into harbour. On one side is the 
rich pasture-land of Meath ; on the other are the 
mountains and valleys of Wicklow. A noble river 
flows through it. Breezes from the ocean and the 
hills both contribute to keep it healthy. Scenery 
of surpassing beauty is within an hour's walk of its 
crowded streets. But no description of Dublin can 
so aptly and pithily characterise it as the few quaint 
lines of old Stani hurst, who says, in tracing its 
origin to the sea-king Avellanus, and giving him 
credit for wisdom in selecting so advantageous a 
site, — " The seat of this city is of all sides pleasant, 



I I A AVEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



comfortable, and wholesome : if you would traverse hills, they are not far off ; if 
champaign ground, it lieth of all parts ; if you be delighted with fresh water, the 
famous river called the Liffey runneth fast by ; if you will take a view of the sea, 
it is at hand." The subject is one of great magnitude and importance, yet there is 
an absolute necessity for its treatment within very limited space.* 

"What a glorious impression of Ireland is conveyed to the eye and mind upon 
approaching the noble and beautiful bay of Dublin ! It is, indeed, inexpressibly 
lovely ; and on entering it after the voyage, the heart bounds with enthusiasm at the 
sight of its capacious bosom, enclosed by huge rocks, encompassed in turn by high 
and picturesque mountains. To the south, varied into innumerable forms, are " the 
Wicklow Hills ; " but nearer, rising, as it were, out of the surface of old ocean, is 
the ever-green island of Dalkey. To the north, a bolder coast is commenced by 
" the Hill of Howth," on a leading pinnacle of which stands the most picturesque 
of the Irish beacons ; at the other side of the promontory, are seen a village, with 
another lighthouse, a martello tower, an ancient abbey, and a calm, though now 
deserted, harbour — for a long period the landing-place upon Irish ground. 

Leaving to the left the pretty island of Dalkey, we enter the channel, between two 
huge sand-banks called, from the perpetual roaring of the sea that rolls over them, 
" the Bulls," north and south. But the place of ordinary debarkation is Kings- 
town, formerly Dunleary, which received its modern name in honour of His 
Majesty George the Fourth, who took ship-board here on leaving Ireland in 
1821. To commemorate the event of the king's visit, an obelisk was erected on 
the spot where he last stood ; with an inscription setting forth the fact. The 
harbour of Kingstown is safe, commodious, and exceedingly picturesque. From 



* Dublin is, in population and extent, the second city of the British empire ; aud ranks as the 
seventh of Europe ; it is somewhat above three miles long in a direct line from east to west ; and 
of nearly equal breadth from north to south. It is encompassed by a " circular road," in extent 
about nine Irish miles ; in 1831 the population amounted to 265,316 ; "of which number 204,155 
are within the boundary of the civic jurisdiction, and the remainder in the county of Dublin." 
In 1682, the number of inhabitants was 64,843; in 1728, 146,075; in 1753, 128,570 ; in 1777 
138,208 ; in 1798, 182,370. It contains about 800 streets, and 22,000 houses. It is situated at 
the western extremity of Dublin Bay ; and the river Liffey, which rises among the "Wicklow 
mountains, runs through it ; increased by the King's River, the Dodder, and the Tolkan ; but 
these are of small importance. The city occupies a space of 1,264 acres; originally it was 
confined within walls to the hill upon which the Castle now stands. These walls were not 
above a mile in circumference. Its increase during the past century was very considerable ; but 
since the Union, its extent has been very little augmented ; and the mansions of the nobility 
have, almost without exception, been converted into hotels, public offices, charitable asylums, or 
schools. The corporation consists of a lord mayor, aldermen, and common council. The title of 
lord mayor was bestowed on the chief magistrate by Charles I. in 1641. The city returns two 
members to the Imperial Parliament ; and two are also returned for the University. 



FIRST IMPRESSIONS OP DUBLIN. 



15 



FMBH 



the quay at which the passengers land, the railway carriages start, and convey 

passengers a distance of seven miles, in about twenty minutes to the terminus, 

within a few hundred yards of the centre of the city ; leaving to the right a long 

and narrow range of stone-work, known as the South Wall, which runs for above 

three miles into the sea, and nearly 

midway in which is an apology for a 

battery, called " the Pigeon-house," — 

but keeping in sight all the way the 

opposite coast, speckled with villages, ' 

and beautifully varied by alternate M . 

hill and dale. fl _ 

The stranger cannot fail to receive j 

a most agreeable impression of . f= 

Dublin, no matter in what part of it, : 

out of the mere suburbs, he chances ; j jj 

to be set down; for its principal j , jj - 7 , 

streets and leading attractions lie <~| - 

within a comparatively narrow com- 
pass ; and his attention is sure to be 
fixed upon some object worthy of ob- 
servation — to be succeeded, almost 
immediately, by some other of equal 
note. If he arrive sea-ward he will 
have fully estimated the magnifi- 
cence of the approach, which nature 
has formed, and which art has im- 
proved ; and there is scarcely one of 

the roads that conduct to it, on which he will not have journeyed through beautiful 
scenery, and obtained a fine view of the city as he nears it. But we must place him, 
at once, nearly in its centre — upon Carlisle Bridge ; perhaps from no single spot of 
the kingdom can the eye command so great a number of interesting points. He 
turns to the north and looks along a noble street, Sackville Street ; midway, is 
Nelson's Pillar, a fine Ionic column, surmounted by a statue of the hero ; directly 
opposite to this is the Post-office, a modern structure built in pure taste ; beyond, 
are the Lying-in Hospital, and the Rotunda ; and, ascending a steep hill, one of the 
many fine squares ; to the south, he has within ken the far-famed Bank of Ireland, 
and the University ; to the west, the Four Courts — the courts of law — and the 
several bridges ; to the east, the Custom-house, a superb though a lonesome building, 
and the quays. Towering above all, and within his ken, wherever it is directed, 
are numerous steeples, of which no city, except the metropolis of England, can 




TESTIMONIAL TO GEORGE THE FOURTH. 



16 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



boast so many. In fact, nearly all the great attractions of Dublin may be seen 
from this single spot. 




THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY. 



We must limit ourselves to a very brief notice of the principal public buildings, 
The front of the College faces Dame-street, and by its architectural beauty har- 




BANK. OP IRELAND. 



monizes with the magnificent structure formerly occupied by the Irish Parliament. 



BANK OF IRELAND. EXCHANGE. THE CASTLE. 



17 



The Bank of Ireland — the " Parliament House " before " the Union " — is 
universally classed among the most perfect examples of British architecture in the 
kingdom ; and indeed is, perhaps, unsurpassed in Europe. Yet, strange to say, 
little or nothing is known of the architect — the history of the graceful and beautiful 
structure being wrapt in obscurity almost approaching to mystery. It is built en- 
tirely of Portland stone, and is remarkable for an absence of all meretricious 
ornament, attracting entirely by its pure and classic, and rigidly simple, architecture. 

The Exchange may, perhaps, rank in beauty next to the bank ; it was commenced 
in 1769 and finished in 1779, under the immediate direction of Mr. Thomas Cooley, 
an architect to whom Dublin is indebted for other fine structures. The Custom- 
house was designed and erected by Mr. James Gandon : the foundation-stone 
having been laid in 1781. " The Four Courts," — the building which contains the 
several Irish courts of law — was commenced by the architect, Mr. Thomas Cooley, 
in 1786 ; and in consequence of his death, continued by Mr. James Gandon. It 
is situated on the north side of the Liffey ; and is an exceedingly beautiful and 
attractive object, seen either from an adjacent point, or from a distance. Of the 
other buildings the most important is " the Post-office," the first stone of which 
was laid in 1815. It was built after a design by Mr. Francis Johnson, and is one 
of the finest and most convenient public structures in the kingdom ; the College of 
Surgeons may be ranked next ; and next, the Lying-in Hospital. 

There are many 
public buildings of 
great architectural 
beauty in the city 
besides those we 
have mentioned, 
but we must be 
content with refer- 
ence — and that a 
slight one only — 
to the more re- 
markable. It will 
be observed that 
of all these edifices 
there are none, 
except the College, 
much above a cen- 
tury old. But 
"The Castle "is of 
great antiquity. Its history is, in fact, the history of Dublin. 




THE BIRMINGHAM TOWER. 



To trace the pro- 



18 



A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



gress of the city from the period when a band of invaders destroyed it by fastening 
matches to the tails of swallows, and so communicating fire to the thatched roofs 
of the houses, to its present extensive size and fine architectural character, would 
be a task — however interesting — that would far exceed our limits. 

The Castle has undergone so many and such various changes from time 
to time, as circumstances justified the withdrawal of its defences, that the only 
portion of it which now bears a character of antiquity is the Birmingham Tower ; 
and even that has been almost entirely rebuilt, although it retains its ancient form. 

But if few of the public structures of Dublin possess " the beauty of age," 
many of its churches may be classed with the " ancient of days." Chief among 
them all is the Cathedral of St. Patrick ; interesting not alone from its antiquity, but 
from its association with the several leading events, and remarkable people, by 
which, and by whom, Ireland has been made " famous." It is situated in a very 




st. Patrick's cathedral. 

old part of Dublin, in the midst of low streets and alleys, the houses being close to 
the small open yard by which the venerable structure is encompassed. It was 
built a.d. 1190, by John Comyn, archbishop of Dublin, by whom it was dedicated 
to the patron saint of Ireland ; but, it is said, the site on which it stands was 
formerly occupied by a church erected by the saint himself — a.d. 448. 



FIRST STATION CLONDALKIN. 



Institutions for promoting science, literature, and the arts, are far too limited ; 
first in rank and in utility is "the Dublin Society," occupying Kildare House, 
purchased in 1815 from the Duke of Leinster for <£20,000 — a noble mansion, 
" long celebrated as one of the most splendid private residences in Europe." The 
society received its charter of incorporation as " The Dublin Society for promoting 
husbandry and other useful arts." Next in importance, is the Royal Irish Academy, 
incorporated in 1786, "to promote the study of science, polite literature, and 
antiquities." 

The immediate vicinity of Dublin, in all directions round the city, is of great 
interest and beauty. The banks of the Liffey, from the quays to a considerable 
distance beyond Leixlip are highly picturesque. The natural luxuriance of the 
soil has been improved by taste and cultivation ; and stately mansions and 
graceful cottages cover the heights of the green hills, by which the river is every- 
where bordered. The Phoenix Park, in which is the country residence of the 
Viceroy, skirts the city. On the north side of Dublin is the admirably conducted 
Botanic Garden of Glasnevin. Of the far-famed county of Wicklow, which com- 
mences but a few miles from the metropolis, it is impossible here to speak. 

The first station out of Dublin, is that of Clondalkin — a distance of but four 
miles and a half. At this village there is a round-tower, in a perfect state of 
preservation. Its height is 
about ninety feet, and it 
measures fifteen feet in 
diameter ; its base was, 
however, about sixty years 
ago, encased with strong 
mason-work, in order to 
protect it from the assaults 
of time. Immediately ad- 
joining the round-tower 
are, as usual, the ruins of 
an ancient church ; and it clondalkin round tower. 

is certain that an abbey was founded here at a very early period. 

Passing the stations of Lucan, Hazlehatch, Straffan, Sallins, and Newbridge, 
places of little note and of no interest, the train stops within sight of Kildare. 
The city, although famous for centuries as a "city renowned for saints," has 
dwindled into comparative insignificance ; some remains of its ancient grandeur, 
however, still exist, the ruined cathedral retaining marks of its original beauty, 
extent, and magnificence ; and the "round-tower," one of the "tallest" in the king- 
dom, still attracting the attention of the curious, and the veneration of the anti- 
quary. The bishopric of Kildare is said to have been founded by St. Conloeth, 




20 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



about the middle of the fifth century. The saint, however, was assisted in his 
labours by the famous St. Bridget, who established a nunnery here, a.d. 484. Her 
nuns were long celebrated as the guardians of an " inextinguishable fire," — 
" The bright lamp that shone in Kildare's holy fane, 
And burn'd through long ages of darkness and storm," — 

so called, "because," ac- 
cording to Giraldus Cam- 
brensis, " the religious 
women are so careful and 
diligent in supplying it 
with fuel, that, from the 
time of St. Bridget, it 
hath remained always un- 
extinguished through so 
many successions of years ; 
and though so vast a 
quantity of wood have 
been in such a length of 
time consumed in it, yet 
the ashes have never in- 
creased." KILDAEE. 

Within a short distance of the town is the far-famed Curragh of Kildare, (through 
which the railway runs,) the principal race-ground in Ireland. It is a fine undu- 
lating down, about six miles in length and two in breadth, and is unequalled, 
perhaps, in the world, for the exceeding softness and elasticity of the turf; the 
verdure of which is " evergreen," and the occasional irregularities of which are very 
attractive to the eye. The land is the property of the crown, and includes about 
6,000 acres, where numerous flocks of sheep find rich and abundant pasture.* 

The railway next passes through a part of the far-famed Bog of Allen. The 
Tourist will, however, see little of it in his way. It is of immense extent, — con- 
taining above 300,000 Irish acres, i.e. about 450,000 English acres. 

The next station is Monasterevan, and the next Portarlington : Portarlington 
is in the Queen's County, and sends a member to Parliament. Tt is situated on 
the river Barrow, hence navigable to the sea at Waterford. The county received 
its title, in compliment to Queen Mary, in the fifth year of her reign. 




* " It is a high table-land, raised, at its highest elevation, about two hundred and seventy 
feet above the LifFey, at low water, in Dublin ; and stretches, from the latter place, across the 
King's County, to the Shannon ; and, beyond it, in a direction east and west, into the counties of 
Galway and Roscommon ; and, laterally, spreads through the counties of Meath and Westmeath 
to the north, and into the Queen's County and Tipperary to the south." 



THE ROCK OF DUNAMASE. 



21 




DUNAMASE. 



The station next reached is that of Maryborough. Although the capital town 
of the Queen's County, it is a place of little note. Distant from it, however, about 
four miles, and within sight of the railway-traveller who looks southward, is the 
famous Rock of Dunamase — one of the most striking and interesting objects in 
Ireland. The ruins of a castle stand upon a solitary rock in the centre of a fertile 
plain, and occupy nearly the whole of it from the base to the summit. The 
accompanying print may _^ : : = - 



afford some idea — yet but 
a limited one, we must con- 
fess — of the early strength 
of the fortress and the 
exceeding grandeur of the 
scene. Although from its 
great natural strength the 
castle would seem impreg- 
nable — except to " the 
giants," who, we were told, 
leaped into it from a far 
distant hill, leaving the impress of their feet, still shown "in the solid rock" — it 
was several times taken and retaken by the " ferocious Irish " and the English 
invaders, their brave but merciless enemies. 

The view from the rock summit is to the highest degree magnificent ; the 
spectator stands in the centre of an ampitheatre ; gazes over fine and fertile 
valleys ; and notes how bountifully nature has endowed the land. At his feet are 
huge masses of masomy, scattered in picturesque confusion, which form a strange 
contrast to the tranquil beauty of the surrounding scene. The fortress seems to 
have been built for eternity — yet there it is — scarcely one stone upon another. 

Passing the stations of Mountrath and Castletown, Roscrea and Borris, and 
Templemore, we reach the station of Thurles, in the far-famed County of Tipperary. 

Not far from Thurles are the beautiful ruins of Holy-Cross Abbey. The abbey 
is situated on the " gentle Suire," and is said to owe its origin as well as 
its name to the possession of a piece of the true cross ; which, according to 
O'Halloran (who does not give his authority, and whose own is not entitled to 
much credit), was sent, covered with gold and set with precious stones, about the 
year 1110, by Pope Pascal the Second, as a present to Donough O'Brien, mon- 
arch of Ireland, and grandson of Brien Boru. The circumstance, however, is by 
no means improbable ; for gifts of the kind were undoubtedly transmitted from 
Rome to some of the provincial Irish kings about the same period ; and it is certain 
that a relic with attributes of peculiar sanctity was preserved in the abbey for 
centuries, and is said to be in existence even to this day. The abbey was originally 



22 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




HOLY-CROSS ABBEY. 



founded in the year 1182, for Cistercian monks, by Donald O'Brien, King of 
Limerick. From the earliest pe- 
riods, it was endowed with peculiar 
privileges : and its charter was con- 
firmed by the kings, John, Henry 
the Third, Edward the Third, and 
Richard the Second, respectively. 
The abbot was a Peer of Parliament, 
and styled the Earl of Holycross. 

The station of Goold's Cross and 
Cashel is next reached. 

All the ecclesiastical ruins (of 
which there are many) in Tipperary, 
and indeed in Ireland, sink into 
insignificance, compared with those 
that crown the far-famed " Rock of 
Cashel." The rock, rising above the 
adjacent country, is seen from a very 

long distance, and from every direction by which it is approached — its summit 
crowned by the ve- 
nerable remains that 
have excited the won- 
der and admiration 
of ages, and will con- 
tinue to do for ages 
yet to come. 

The " city "—for 
the rank belongs to 
it — has an aspect 
almost as time-worn 
as the ruins on the 
" rock," while infi- 
nitely less pictu- 
resque. The prin- 
cipal street is wide, and well built ; but the lanes and alleys that branch from it, 
and the suburbs, are mean and wretched. 

Let the reader then imagine the beautiful pile of sacred edifices crowning the 
entire summit of a huge limestone rock, completely isolated and occasionally pre- 
cipitous, standing in the midst of a luxuriant country, "the Golden Yale," and 
commanding an extensive prospect — bounded on one side by the lofty range of 




ROCK OP CASHEL. 



CASHEL. 



23 



the Galtee mountains, but permitting, upon all other sides, the eye to wander over 
miles upon miles of a richly cultivated and proverbially productive land ; the 
picturesque effect of which, however, is impaired by the total absence of trees. 




The station next reached is Dundrum, and the next " the Limerick junction," 
where, as the name indicates, the branch line to Limerick commences ; the city 
being distant twenty-two miles. 

The station next on the Cork line is Knocklong, and next the ancient and vene- 
rable town of Kilmallock — the ruins of which are seen to the right : these we have 
sufficiently described upon one of the roads out of Limerick to Killarney. Charle- 
ville is next approached, and then Buttevant; and at the Mallow station, distant 
20 miles from Cork and 145 from Dublin, the Tourist who is not disposed to visit 
Cork, will leave the station to proceed to Killarney by one of the coaches, by a hired 
jaunting car, or by carriage ; as, in our " Guide-notes," we shall show there are 
. ample means of conveying him on his route, without stay at Mallow, if such be his 
desire, he may rest awhile at the comfortable inn of Mrs. O'Brien, and prosecute his 
journey the next day. He will be wise, however, if he continue the journey to 
Cork ; either returning to Mallow, or pursuing one of the roads from Cork ; con- 
cerning which, ample instructions will be found in the pages that follow. 

We are to suppose him, then, starting from Mallow, and taking the ordinary 
coach road to the Lakes ; he will find it somewhat tedious and but little interesting ; 
through forty-two miles of a dreary and uncultivated district, he will encounter few 
objects about which to inquire, until the summits of the Keeks appear in sight ; he 
will meet only a few small villages, and one town (Millstreet) between Mallow and 
Killarney. 



24 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY, 



On leaving Mallow, attention will first be directed to abont seven miles of un- 
gainly dyke — an abandoned canal, for which the cuttings were made, although the 
work was never finished ; it remains to tell its story of ill-digested plan, want of 
perseverance, or lack of capital, we cannot say which. About four miles out of 
Mallow, is the fine ruin of Drummineen Castle, concerning which we made inquiry, 
and, as usual, were informed that " Cromwell knocked it on the head." From a 
tall cliff, it overlooks the river Blackwater, a river which is seen occasionally from 
various parts of the road for about half the way to Killarney. 

Passing Clonmene, the ruins of an old castle, we reach Banteer, a small village, 
of little note ; and next the town of Millstreet, where a relay of horses may be 
always obtained at a clean and comfortable inn, " the Wallis Arms." From 
Millstreet to Killarney the road becomes wilder and even less interesting ; a few 
miles forward a bridge crosses a river which divides the counties of Cork and Kerry : 
the villages of Knocknacoppal and Six Miles Bridge being passed, indications 
commence of the approach to Killarney. Mount Leader commences a line of 
mountains, along the tops of which the eye ranges; the familiar summits of 
Mangerton, Tore, Toomies, the Purple mountain, and the more distant Reeks, will 
now be pointed out to the Tourist. He soon passes several neat and com- 
fortable cottages ; they are on the estate of Mr. Herbert of Mucross, a gentleman 
who takes good care of his tenantry, and may be an example to the landlords of 
any country of the world. Within a mile or two of Killarney town, the traveller 
will notice a part of the line of railway, by which, it is to be supposed, at no distant 
period, he will travel from Mallow : hitherto, want of funds has prevented its com- 
pletion ; fortunately, whenever it is finished, it will be completely hidden from the 
lakes, by the intervening forest trees in the demesne of Lord Kenmare, so that the 
scenery will not materially suffer from a closer connexion with the business and 
bustle of the world. 

On his way, the Tourist will not have failed to notice the Constabulary Barracks, 
and the Police : he will have observed neat and well ordered buildings, and 
remarkably fine young men to whom the " keeping of the peace " has been con- 
fided. This force is well ordered, well disciplined, and it is scarcely too much to 
say — for, comparatively, recent events are evidence — incorruptible. 

The Tourist who will have travelled but a few miles upon any coach road, will 
naturally have had his attention directed to another source of vast benefit to Ireland, 
the National Schools. 

We have thus conducted him to Killarney by the direct road from Dublin, 
145 miles by railway and 42 miles by coach. He will soon learn, however, that 
other routes present themselves with attractions far greater than that we have 
described from Mallow to Killarney. 








•r-1^ 




- 






! ■■ Jt 






::W 





ORK AND ITS HARBOUR. 

The distant appearance of Cork harbour, from 
the seaward approach, is gloomy, rocky, and in- 
hospitable ; but as its entrance between two bold 
headlands — scarcely half a mile apart, and crowned 
by fortifications — opens upon the view, its cha- 
racter undergoes a complete change. The town of 
Queenstown,* with the island of Spike (forming a 
sort of natural breakwater), and several smaller 
islands, give variety and interest to a noble expanse 
of sea that spreads out, like a luxuriant lake, to 
welcome and rejoice the visitor; its sparkling 
billows heaving and tumbling in sportive mimicry 
of the wild and wide ocean without. The harbour 
is one of the most secure, capacious, and beautiful 
of the kingdom, and is said to be large enough to 
contain the whole navy of Great Britain. Queens- 
town is seen fronting the mouth of the harbour 
almost immediately after it is entered. It is built on the side of a steep hill, and 
rises from the waters edge, terrace above terrace; the more elevated parts com- 



* " Queenstown " will not be found in any of the books older than 1849, although " Cove " 
has been at all times famous. The name of this port-town was changed from Cove to Queenstown 
in honour of Her Majesty, who there first landed in Ireland, in the year 1849. 

c 



26 



A WEEK AT KILLAENEY. 



man ding a magnificent bird's-eye view of the extensive anchorage 



The town has, 

therefore, natural advantages of a rare order. On all sides the shore is covered 
with villas — the trees, usually stunted on the coast, grow here gracefully and 
majestically: the islands, and fortified headlands, are so many imposing objects 
within view ; and the gay yachts, which a tourist described a centnry ago as " little 
vessels, that for painting and gilding exceed those of the king at Greenwich," give 
animation and variety to the exciting scene. 




HAULBOWLIN ISLAND. 



The harbour is diversified by other islands beside that of Spike (now a huge depot 
for convicts) ; one of the most conspicuous, Hanibowlin, — the depot for naval stores, — 
is here represented with fishing-boats waiting for the tide to proceed to sea. 

Attention will be directed to " Rocky Island " — the government depot for gun- 
powder : the store rooms are excavated in the solid rock, and communicate with 
each other by apertures in the sides. It is pictured on the opposite page. 

Leaving these islands to the left, the voyager passes up the beautiful river; 
rounding a wooded promontory, the village and castle of Monkstown come in 
sight. The castle was built in the year 1636, and, according to popular tradition, 
at the cost of a groat. To explain the enigma, the following story is told: — 
Anastatia Goold, who had become the wife of John Archdeken, determined while 
her husband was abroad, serving in the army of Philip of Spain, to give him 



MONKSTOWN. BLACK ROCK. RIVER LEE. 



27 



evidence of her thrift on his return, by surprising him with a noble residence 
which he might call his own. Her plan was, to supply the workmen with 
provisions and other articles they required, for which she charged the ordinary 
price; but as she had made her purchases wholesale, upon balancing her 
accounts it appeared that the retail profit had paid all the expenses of the 
structure, except fourpence ! 

The Archdekens were an Anglo- ^. _ _ . -_ 

Irish family, who " degenerat- 
ing " became " Hibernices quam 
Hiberniores" — more Irish than 
the Irish themselves, — and 
assumed the name of Mac Odo, 
or Cody. They "forfeited" in 
1688, having followed the for- 
tunes of James II. 

About a mile nearer the city 
is the village of Passage, where 
all large vessels discharge their 
cargoes, and where an excellent 
quay has been built to facilitate 
the embarkation and disembarka- 
tion of passengers ; and from 
whence there is a Railway to 
Cork, through Black-rock. 

The " long wall," as they term 
a most unsightly heap of stones, 
that stretch above a mile into 
the river, is on the left, as we 
near the city; and on the right is the beautiful road to Glanmire. A line of pretty 
and picturesque villas extend along the river's banks. At the termination of this line 
is the quay, where passengers land, and on which the St. George's Steam Company have 
their office. As a handsome structure, and one of considerable interest to all voyagers 
to and from " the beautiful city," we have thought it right to copy it into our pages. 

The whole distance to this quay from the harbour's mouth, about twelve miles, 
is one continued scene of varied interest. To do full justice to the exceeding 
beauty of the river Lee is impossible. On either side, immediately after passing 
the harbour's mouth, numberless attractive objects in succession greet the eye; and 
the wild and the cultivated are so happily mingled, that it would seem as if the hand 
of taste had been everywhere employed, skilfully, to direct and improve nature. 
Moore during one of his visits called it " the noble sea avenue to Cork;" and an 

c2 




dep6t on rocky island. 



28 



A WEEK AT KILLARXET. 



Eastern traveller, with whom we journeyed, observed that " a few minarets placed 
in its hanging gardens would realize the Bosphorus." As we proceed along, the 
land seems always around us ; the river, in its perpetual changes, appears a series 
of lakes, from which there is no passage except over one of the encompassing hills. 
These hills are clad, from the summit to the water's edge, with every variety of 




STEAM COMPANIS OFFICES, CORK. 



foliage; graceful villas and ornamented cottages are scattered among them in 
profusion, and here and there some ancient ruin recalls a story of the past. 
A sail from Cork to Queenstown is one of the 
rarest and richest treats the island can supply, 
and might justify a description that would 
seem akin to hyperbole. Its noble har- 
bour, indeed, originated the motto — " Statio 
bene fida carinis" — so aptly and deservedly 
applied to it. The city arms, here represented, 
there can be no doubt, were suggested by the 
arms of Bristol; similar privileges to those 
enjoyed by that city having been granted to 
Cork by charter. 




ARMS OF THE CITY. 



CORK, — THE CATHEDRAL. 



29 



The moment the voyager lands, he is impressed with a conviction that the natu- 
ral advantages of Cork have been turned to good account. There is bustle on the 
quays; carriages and carts of all classes are waiting to convey passengers or 
merchandise to their destination; and an air of prosperity cheers him as he 
disembarks. 

It does not fall within our province to supply the reader with extensive details 
concerning the city of Cork — the second city of Ireland. According to our pre- 
sent plan, it is of importance chiefly as furnishing to the Tourist the means that 
enable him to reach Killarney. He will not, however, pass through it, unless speed 
be very necessary, without pausing to examine its objects of interest, and they are 
numerous and striking ; nor will he pursue his route without taking a day, at least, 
to drive about the beautiful scenery by which it is on all sides surrounded. A few 
of our pages may, therefore, be advantageously filled with suggestions for turning 
this portion of the tour to profitable account. 

The situation of Cork is low, having been originally built on marshy islands; 
whence its name — " Corcagh," signifying, in Irish, land occasionally overflowed by 
the tide; but the northern and southern suburbs stand upon high ground. 
Scarcely a century has passed since the river ran through its principal streets, 
which are formed by arching over the stream. Spenser has happily described — 



The spreading Lee, that like an island fair 
Encloseth Cork with his divided flood." 



Cork has a cheerful and prosperous aspect; the leading streets ar 
though the houses may be described as built 
with studied irregularity, their character is by 
no means ungraceful or unpleasing. The quays 
at either side of the Lee — here of course a 
river muddied from traffic — are constructed of 
limestone, and may be said to merit the term 
so frequently applied to them, " grand and 
elegant." 

Antiquities are rare; the cathedral, dedi- 
cated to St. Finn Bar, is built on the site of 
the early church, a few of the remains of which 
have been introduced into the modern struc- 
ture. The tower of the steeple is compara- 
tively ancient. The pointed doorway, recessed 
and richly moulded, is shown in the annexed 
cut. A round tower formerly stood in the 



e wide; and 




DOORWAY, ST. FINN BAR. 



30 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



churchyard ; but having been considerably injured by the fire from the fort on 
Barrack Hill when the great Marlborough stormed Cork, this venerable remain 
was taken down, and no trace of it at present exists. Institutions, charitable, 
scientific, and literary, abound in Cork; it has been celebrated more than any 
other city of Ireland for the production and fosterage of genius, and is the birth- 
place of many persons who have attained eminence in literature, science, and 
the arts. 

The jails of Cork — the " city " and " county " — are models of good management, 
cleanliness, and order; and the Lunatic Asylum is among the best conducted 
institutions of the kingdom. The population of the city, by the census of 1831, 
was 107,016; of the county — the largest and most populous of Ireland — 703,716. 

The national customs that prevail among the people of Cork are common to 
other parts of Ireland, with one exception ; and although it is partially found else- 
where — in the Isle of Man for instance — it is certainly confined to the southern 
districts of Ireland. For some weeks preceding Christmas, crowds of village boys 
may be seen peering into the hedges, in search of the " tiny wren;" and when one 
is discovered, the whole assemble and give eager chase to, until they have slain, the 
little bird. In the hunt, the utmost excitement prevails ; shouting, screeching, and 
rushing ; all sorts of missiles are flung at the puny mark, and, not unfrequently, 
they light upon the head of some less innocent being. From bush to bush, from 
hedge to hedge, is the wren pursued until bagged with as much pride and pleasure 
as the cock of the woods by the more ambitious sportsman. The stranger is utterly 
at a loss to conceive the cause of this " hubbub," or the motive for so much energy 
in pursuit of " such small gear." On the anniversary of St. Stephen (the 26th of 
December) the enigma is explained. Attached to a huge holly-bush, elevated on a 
pole, the bodies of several little wrens are borne about. This bush is an object of 
admiration in proportion to the number of dependent birds, and is carried through 
the streets in procession, by a troop of boys, among whom may be usually found 
" children of a larger growth," shouting and roaring, and singing " the wren boys' 
song" — to the air which a professional friend, Mr. Alexander D. Roche, has 
" penned " down for us : — 




Jzjzz_J_^J J J =jj 



pEEe^ 



■^-•-J- 



F=M=q 



&■ ■&■& 



The following specimen will satisfy our readers as to the merit of the compo- 
sition : — 



WREN-BOYS. 



31 



" The wran, the wran, the king of all birds, 
St. Stephen's day was cot in the furze, 
Although he is little his family's grate, 
Put yer hand in yer pocket and give us a trate. 
Sing holly, sing ivy — sing ivy, sing holly, 
A drop just to drink it would drown melancholy. 
And iv you dhraw it ov the best, 
I hope in heaven yer sowl will rest ; 
But iv you dhraw it ov the small, 
It won't agree wid de wran boys at all." 

Of course contributions are levied in many quarters, and the evening is, or 




THE WKBN BOYS. 



rather was — before Temperance regenerated Ireland — occupied in drinking out the 



32 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



sum total of the day's collection. The preceding sketch, from the pencil of 
Maclise, will describe, better than language can do, the singular ceremony, and the 
fantastic group by whom it is conducted. This is, we believe, the only Christmas 
gambol remaining in Ireland of the many that, in the middle ages, were so 
numerous and so dangerous as to call for the interposition of the law, and the 
strong arm of magisterial authority. As to the origin of the whimsical but absurd 
and cruel custom, we have no data. 

Promenades in the immediate neighbourhood of Cork are few ; the oldest is the 
Mardyke, a walk between rows of aged but ungracefully lopped trees. Once it was 
lonely and retired, but the spirit of building has surrounded it with houses, and 
its solitary character — its only recommendation — is for ever gone. The new 




THE CEMETERY, CORK. 

cemetery, however, demands some notice. It was formerly a botanic garden 
attached to the Cork Institution ; but in 1826 was sold to the very Rev. Theobald 
Mathew, who converted it to its present use. It is, therefore, perhaps unrivalled 
in the kingdom, being full of the rarest trees, from all parts of the world ; its walls 
are covered with climbing roses and other shrubs ; and, from the nature of its soil 
and aspect, everything is growing in luxuriant profusion. The hand of science 
has laid out its gravelled paths, and the art of the sculptor has been employed to 
ornament it — occasionally with remarkably good taste and effect, but not unfre- 
quently so as greatly to mar its beauty. 

The whole of the immediate outlets of Cork possess considerable interest, and 
their natural beauties are, perhaps, not exceeded by those of any city of the king- 



BLARNEY. 



33 



dom. The most " famous/' and certainly the most interesting of the neighbouring 
localities, is Blarney — a village about four miles north-west of Cork. Few places 
in Ireland are more familiar to English ears. This notoriety is attributable, first, 
to the marvellous qualities of its famous " stone," and next, to the extensive popu- 
larity of the song, — 

" The groves of Blarney, they are so charming." 

When or how the stone ob- 
tained its singular reputation, 
it is difficult to determine ; 
the exact position among the 
ruins of the castle is also a 
matter of doubt. The peasant- 
guides humour the visitor 
according to his capacity for 
climbing, and direct, either to 
the summit or the base, the 
attention of him who desires 
to "greet it with a holy kiss." 
He who has been dipped in 
the Shannon is presumed to 
have obtained, in abundance, 
the gift of that " civil cou- 
rage " which makes an Irish- 
man at ease and unconstrain- 
ed in all places and under all 
circumstances; and he who 
has kissed the Blarney stone 
is assumed to be endowed 
with a fluent and persuasive 
tongue, although it may be 
associated with insincerity ; 
the term " Blarney " being 
generally used to characterise 
words that are meant neither to be 




BLARNEY CASTLE. 



honest or true." 

It is impossible to contemplate the romantic ruins of Blarney Castle without a 
feeling more akin to melancholy than to pleasure ; they bear, so perfectly, the 
aspect of strength utterly subdued, and remind one, so forcibly, that the " glory " 
of Ireland belongs to days departed. 

The strong-hold of Blarney was erected about the middle of the fifteenth century 



34 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



by Connac Mac Cafthy, surnamed " Laider," or the Strong ; whose ancestors 
had been chieftains in Minister from a period long antecedent to the English in- 
vasion, and whose descendants, as lords of Mnskerry and Clancarty, retained no 
inconsiderable portion of their power and estates until the year 1689, when their 
immense possessions were confiscated. The scenery that adjoins the castle is 
exceedingly beautiful. We visited " The sweet Rock-close " — it well deserves the 
epithet — dming a sunny day in June ; and never can we forget the fragrant shade 
afforded by the luxuriant evergreens that seem rooted in the limestone rock. The 
little river Comane is guarded by a natural terrace, fringed by noble trees ; several 
of the spaces between are grottos — natural also ; some with seats, where many a 
love tale has been told, and will be, doubtless, as long as Cork lads and lasses indulge 
in pic-nic fetes, while the blackbird whistles, and the wood-pigeon coos in the twisted 
foliage above then heads : it is indeed a spot of exceeding mildness and singular 
beauty ; at some particular points you catch a glimpse of the castle, the river, and 
the mysterious entrance to the " Witches' Stairs." We wandered from the shades 
of the Rock-close across the green pastures that lead to the lake — a fine expanse 
of water about a quarter of a mile from the castle. The scenery here is rather 
English than Irish, but every step is hallowed by a legend : it is implicitly believed 
that the last Earl of Clancarty who inhabited the castle committed the keeping of 
his plate to the deepest waters, and that it will never be recovered until a Mac 
Carthy be again lord of Blarney. Enchanted cows on midsummer nights dispute 
the pasture with those of the present possessor, and many an earthly bull has been 
worsted in the contest. As to fairies — their rings are upon the grass from early 
summer to the last week in harvest. 

We have devoted as much space as we can well spare to the City of Cork and its 
vicinity. The subject, however, might supply material for a full volume instead of 
a few pages. Thus much, at least, appeared necessary in order to suggest hints 
of the enjoymeut the Tourist may derive from a visit to " the beautiful city; " 
which we must now entreat him to leave in order to commence the journey to 

KILLARNEY. 







C ORK, to K1LLARHE Y. 

' ' '■xz:i:2J.:b£ ' r 




lworth 




THE ROUTES. 



BY MACROOM AND GLENFLESK. 



? - HE road by which we shall first conduct the Tourist is the 
one he will pursue if his purpose be to proceed to Kil- 
larney, through Macroom, Ballyvourney, and Glenflesk. 
although the shortest, is the least interesting, 
and will be taken by few whose object is to form acquaint- 
ance with the picturesque. Yet it is by no means devoid of 
grandeur, and even beauty ; as we shall presently endeavour 
to show. As this route admits of few descriptive details, we 
shall first introduce matter that may amuse, and convey infor- 
mation, concerning the several methods of travelling in Ireland; 
picturing the vehicles in one or other of which the tourist will 
have to travel. We may begin by advising him to lay in a stock 
of good-humour, for petty annoyances will frequently occur, and it is a coin that 
passes current everywhere, but is of especial value in Ireland; and to take, also, a 



36 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



plentiful supply of water-proof clothing, for sunny June is no more to be trusted 
than showery April. Some one has said that the only day in which you can 
be certain to escape a wotting is the 30th of February — a day that never comes ; 
and it is recorded of Mr. Fox, we believe, that whenever he received a visitor 
from Ireland, after his own brief tour in the country, his invariable question 
was, " By the way, is that shower over yet 1 " This is, undoubtedly, a sad drawback 
upon pleasure ; the humidity of the atmosphere is a continual affliction to those 
who are not used to it ; and is insufficiently compensated for by the fact that the 
grass in Ireland is ever green, and the clouds are at all times moving in forms, 
majestic or fantastic, of infinite variety. Yet the evil is one that can be guarded 
against; and, inasmuch as prevention is better than cure, heavy showers should 
always be encountered by anticipation. 

Machines for travelling in Ireland are, some of them at least, peculiar to the 
country. The stage-coaches are precisely similar to those in England, and travel 




BIANCONl's CAR. 

at as rapid a rate. They, of course, run upon all the great roads, and are con- 
structed with due regard to safety and convenience. The public cars of Mr. Bian- 
coni have, however, to a large extent, displaced the regular coaches, and are to be 
encountered in every district of the south of Ireland. In form they resemble the 
common outside jaunting-car, but are calculated to hold twelve, fourteen, or sixteen 
persons ; they are well horsed, have cautious and experienced drivers, are generally 
driven with three horses, and usually travel at the rate of seven Irish miles an hour ; 
the fares for each person averaging about two-pence per mile. They are open 
cars ; but a huge apron affords considerable protection against rain ■ and they 



TRAVELLING CARS. INSIDE CAR. 



37 



may be described as, in all respects, very comfortable and convenient vehicles. 
It would be difficult for a stranger to conceive the immense influence which this 
establishment has had upon the character and condition of the country ; its intro- 
duction, indeed, has been only second to that of steam in promoting the improve- 
ment of Ireland, by facilitating intercourse between remote districts, and enabling 
the farmer to transact his own business at a small expense and with little sacrifice 
of time.* Mr. Bianconi, a native of Milan, ran his first car — from Clonmel to 
Cahir — on the 5th of July, 1815. The experiment was at the commencement very 
discouraging : he was frequently for whole weeks without a passenger. But his 
energy and perseverance ultimately triumphed, and he has succeeded in obtaining 
a large fortune, while conferring incalculable benefit on the community ; having 
preserved an irreproachable character, and gained the respect of all classes. 

Post-chaises are now but seldom used ; they are to be had in all the larger towns ; 
but, although very different from what they were when the caricature pictured one 
thatched with straw, from the bottom of which the traveller's legs protruded, they 
are by no means vehicles that can be strongly recommended. 

The cars are of three kinds ; " the covered car," " the inside jaunting car," and 
" the outside jaunting car ; " the latter being the one most generally in use, and 
the only one employed in posting. 
The two former, indeed, can seldom 
be procured except in large towns. 
The covered car is a comparatively 
recent introduction, its sole recom- 
mendation being that it is weather- 
proof, for it effectually prevents 
a view of the country except 
through the two little peephole 
windows in front, or by tying 
back the oil-skin curtains behind : 
yet our longer journeys in Ireland 
have been made in this machine ; 
it preserved us from many a wet- 
ting, and we endeavoured to 




COVERED JAUNTING-CAR. 



remedy the evil of confinement by stopping 



* It would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of opening roads through the less fre- 
quented districts of Ireland. The necessity which formerly existed for keeping a large armed 
force there has had, at least, this one good effect : " military roads " are to be found in all 
quarters. One of the wildest mountain-tracts of the county of Cork was, a few years ago, dan- 
gerous for travellers at all seasons, and a source of considerable annoyance to the government. 
The question was asked, " What was to be done V A shrewd adviser answered, " Make a road 
through it." The advice was taken, and the Bograh mountains are now peaceable and prosperous. 



38 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




at every promising spot, and either getting ont or making the driver turn his vehicle 
round, so that, from the back, we might command the prospect we desired. This 
class of cars has of late multiplied greatly in all the large towns ; they are, in Ireland, 
what the hackney-coaches and cabriolets are in England. 

The inside jaunting-car is not often to be hired ; it is usually private property, 
and is, perhaps, the most comfort- 
able, as well as elegant, of the ve- 
hicles of the country. 

The outside jaunting-car is that 
to which especial reference is made 
when speaking of the " Irish " car. 
It is exceedingly light, presses very 
little upon the horse, and is safe as 
well as convenient ; so easy is it to 
get on and off, that both are frequently 
done while the machine is in motion. 
It is always driven with a single horse; 
the driver occupies a small seat in 
front, and the travellers sit back to back,* the space between them being occupied 
by " the well" — a sort of boot for luggage ; but when there is only one passenger, 
the driver usually places himself on the opposite seat " to balance the car," the 
motion of which would be awkward if one side was much heavier than the other. 
The foot " board " is generally of iron, and is made to move on hinges, so that it 
may be turned up to protect the cushions 
during rain. This foot-board projects 
considerably beyond the wheels, and 
would seem to be dangerous ; but in cases 
of collision with other vehicles, a matter 
of no very rare occurrence, the feet are 
raised, and injury is sustained only by 
the machine. The private cars of this 
description are, of course, neatly and 
carefully made, and have a character of 
much elegance ; but those which are hired 
are, in general, badly built, dirty, and 
uncomfortable. 



INSIDE JAUNTING-CAR. 




OUTSIDE JAUNTING-CAR. 



* This arrangement has been characterised as unsocial ; but conversation is easily carried on 
by leaning across " the well." Its disadvantage is that the eye can take in but the half of a 
landscape ; a caustic friend likened it to the Irish character, which limits the vision to a one- 
sided view of every thing. 



PEASANTS CARS. OLD ROADS. 



39 



The car, or ra- 
ther cart, used by 
the peasantry, re- 
quires some notice. 
Flat boards are 
placed across it, and 
upon these straw is 
laid, and often a 
feather-bed. The 
one described in 
the engraving has 
the old - fashioned 
wheels cut out of a 
solid piece of wood. 
These vehicles are 
now, however, nearly obsolete 
have given way before 
modern improvements. 
In Ireland there are few 
turnpikes ; the repairs of 
the roads usually falling 
upon the county, money 
for the purpose being 
annually voted by the 
grand juries. The roads j 

are for the most part 
good ; and of late years, 
a better system of sur- 
veying, so largely intro- 
duced into the country, 
has led to the formation 
of " new lines " to nearly 
every place of import- 
ance. The old plan, there- 
fore, of carrying a road 
" as the bird flies," up 
and down the steepest 
hills, through morasses, 
and along the brinks of 
frightful precipices, has 




OLD CAR OF THE PEASANT. 



their unfitness having been understood, they 




OLD IRISH ROAD. 



40 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



been entirely abandoned ; and, at present, the carriage will generally require 
springs no stronger than those which are used in England. The lover of the 
picturesque, indeed, will not unfrequently prefer the rugged pathway of former 
times, and think himself amply repaid for greater toil and fatigue by the prospect 
opened to him from the mountain tops, or the refreshment he derives from follow- 
ing the course of the river that rushes through the valley. He will, however, 
sometimes have to leave the car, and walk through a morass, over a broken bridge, 
or along a dangerous ravine, which time has deprived of the wall that once 
guarded it. Our friend Mr. Willes has supplied us with a sketch, that may 
convey some idea of the " perils that do environ " the traveller who seeks adventure 
along the neglected or deserted tracks. 

Persons who have never travelled in Ireland can have but a very inadequate 
idea of the wit and humour of the Irish car-drivers. They are for the most part 
a thoughtless and reckless set of men, living upon chances, always " taking the 
world aisy " — that is to say, having no care for the morrow, and seldom being 
owners of a more extensive wardrobe than the nondescript mixture they carry 
about their persons. They are the opposites in all respects of the English 
postilions : the latter do their duty, but seldom familiarise their " fares " to the 
sound of their voices. In nine cases out of ten the traveller never exchanges a 
word with his post-boy ; a touch of the hat acknowledges the gratuity when " the 
stage" is ended; and the driver having consigned his charge to his successor, 
departs, usually in ignorance whether his chaise has contained man, woman, or 
child. He neither knows, nor cares for, aught of their concerns, except that he is 
to advance so many miles upon such a road, according to the instructions of his 
employer. The Irish driver, on the contrary, will ascertain, during your progress, 
where you come from, where you are going, and, very often, what you are going 
about. He has a hundred ways of wiling himself into your confidence, and is sure 
to put in a word or two upon every available opportunity; yet in such a manner 
as to render it impossible for you to subject him to the charge of impertinence. 
Indeed it is a striking peculiarity of the lower classes of the Irish that they can be 
familiar without being presuming; tender advice without appearing intrusive; 
and even command your movements without seeming to interfere in the least with 
your own free-will. This quality the car-driver enjoys to perfection. Formerly, 
he rarely took his seat without being half-intoxicated ; now-a-days an occurrence 
of the kind is next to impossible. It cannot be denied, however, that much of his 
natural drollery has vanished with the whiskey. The chances now are that the 
Irish driver will be as commonplace a personage as the English postilion, conveying 
you safely to your journey's end without causing alarm or exciting laughter. Still 
you may be lucky in meeting a pleasant fellow, who combines the humour of the 
old school with the prudence of the new ; who can be sober without being stupid ; 



THE LEE. — CARRIG-A-DROID. 



41 



can entertain you with amusing anecdotes along a dull road ; describe interesting 
objects upon a road that supplies them, and communicate information upon all 
points of importance, without endangering the bones of the passenger. 

The road usually taken to Macroom is that which lies on the north bank of the 
Lee ; it is preferred not only because it is kept in better repair, but because the 
views are considered finer, and it skirts the river all the way. Proceeding by 
Ballyvourney, we shall take this route ) and pursue the southern road when we 
conduct the tourist by way of Gougane Barra. 

The river Lee, the Luvius of Ptolemy, from the mouth to its source in the 
romantic lake of Gougane Barra — a distance of fifty-five miles from the city of 
Cork — is exceedingly picturesque and beautiful. It is less rapid than most of 
the Irish rivers, and its banks are frequently wooded. The Lee is interesting, 
however, not alone from its natural advantages : it has associations with the 
history of the past — numerous castles, now in ruins, look down upon it, and many 
monasteries and abbeys skirt its sides. 

Various objects of interest will be pointed out to the tourist on this line of 
road. A little beyond Iniscarra bridge — about six miles on his journey — is the 
old church of Iniscarra ; a mile or so further is the castle of Inch ; then Dripsey 




DBIPSEY CASTLE. 

village, with its flourishing paper mills, situated in the centre of a richly wooded 
valley, through which runs a rapid river to join the Lee : Dripsey castle is seen in 
the distance, and Dripsey bridge is crossed. Carrig-a-droid is next reached. 
The castle stands on a rock that juts out into the Lee. It is comparatively modern. 

D 



A WEEK IX KILLARNEr. 



hi 1641, however, it was a strong fortress, and had the credit of baffling the 
arms of Oliver Cromwell. 

Tradition states it to have been erected by a Mac Carthy, "to please the 
lady 0* Carroll," who desired a residence on this singularly wild and beautiful 
spot. A legend, however, attributes its origin to a circumstance still more 
romantic. A poor peasant, lame and hump-backed, fell in love with the fair 
daughter of his chieftain, and pined in despair at the hopeless nature of his 
attachment. Wandering by the river-side, he suddenly heard the click click of 
the Cluricaune's hammer, seized the tiny brogue-maker, and compelled him to 
reveal the secret of the whereabouts of his treasure store.* The little being not 
only endowed him with riches, but changed his awkward and ungainly form to 
one of manly grace ; and the lovely Maiga was readily wooed, and easily won, by 
a stranger rich enough to build for her a noble mansion and to place the wealth of 
earth at her feet. 

The town of Macroom, twenty -five miles from Cork, is situate on the Sullane — 
a river which, for extent and beauty, rivals the Lee. The castle of Macroom is very 
ancient, or rather parts of it are of very remote antiquity, for it has undergone 
many of the chances and changes incident to the civil wars. The town is entered by 
a long and narrow bridge, exhibited in the print from the design of Mr. Creswick 
introductory to this division of our book. The castle-mansion is seen to the left. 

From Macroom to Killarney the road is, as we have intimated, not very 
picturesque ; it passes along the banks of the river Sullane, and through the small 
village of Ballyvourney, almost the only congregation of houses in the route. It 
runs, however, within a few yards of the singular castle of Carrig-a-Pooka, built, 
according to Smith, by the Mac Carthy of Drishane, and placed on the summit of 
a solitary rock, so steep as to render caution necessary in climbing it. It is now a 
single tower, and never could have been much more extensive, for it almost covers 
the rock on which it stands. Associated with the castle is one of the fairy legends 
of Ireland — the legend of the Pooka. 

Of the malignant class of beings composing the Irish fairy mythology — and it 
is creditable to the national character that they are the least numerous — the 
Pooka excels, and is pre-eminent in malice and mischief. In form he is a very 
Proteus, — generally a horse, but often an eagle. He sometimes assumes the figure 

* The Cluricaune is the most famous of the Irish pigmies. He is usually habited and occupied 
as a shoemaker. He is always alone ; and, if encountered, may be compelled to reveal the secret 
of his treasure-house, provided the questioner keeps his eye upon the imp until he has been fully 
answered. Usually he contrives to outwit his captor by turning off his attention for an instant — 
when the elf is gone ; or, if taken, and he has exhibited the " crock of gold," buried in the earth, 
over which the peasant of course leaves a mark, in the morning, when he comes to dig it up, he 
finds a thousand similar marks covering every part of the field. 



LEGEND OF THE POOKA. 



43 



of a bull ; or becomes an ignis fatuus. Amongst the great diversity of forms at 
times assumed by him, he exhibits a mixture or compound of the calf and goat. 
Probably it is in some measure owing to the assumption of the latter figure that 
he owes his name ; puc being the Irish for goat. 

The great object of the Pooka seems to be to obtain a rider ; and then he is all 
in his most malig- 
nant glory. — Head- 
long he dashes 
through briar and 
brake, through flood 
and fell, over moun- 
tain, valley, moor, 
or river, indiscrimi- 
nately ; up or down 
precipice is alike to 
him, provided he 
gratifies the malevo- 
lence that seems to 
inspire him. He 
bounds and flies over 
and beyond them, 
gratified by the dis- 
tress, and utterly 

reckless and ruthless of the cries, and danger and suffering, of the luckless wight 
who bestrides him. Of the pranks of the Pooka, as will be imagined, many 
amusing stories were told by the peasantry ; all generally having nearly the same 
termination : — " And, plase yer honour, I found myself in the morning lying in a 
wet ditch ; and it couldn't be the drop I tuk ; for, barring a few glasses at a 
neighbour's, I didn't drink a drop at all at all, all day." This was, however, in the 
olden time ; the Pooka has gone out with the other " Spirits." 

" Soon after passing Carrig-a-Pooka, the tourist reaches the small village of Bally - 
vourney, — distant forty-two miles from Cork, and eighteen from Macroom. Here 
he will have no motive for even a brief pause ; but about four miles further on, 
when he enters the district of Glenflesk, and approaches Phil-a-dhaoun, he must 
arrange for some delay. A detour from the main road, while it involves but a mile 
of addition to the journey, brings him to one of the most striking and romantic 
glens in the neighbourhood of the Lakes.* He turns off, without crossing the 




THE POOKA. 



* We point especially to this object upon this route ; inasmuch as a visit to it, en route to 
Killarney, involves little delay. It should be seen, at all events ; and if there be leisure may 

d2 



44 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



Ponl-gorm bridge, close by where the river Flesk is met by " the Coarse 
river" — passing, however, several other bridges, for the river rushes along in fan- 
tastic freedom, and twists and turns in all imaginable directions — and arrives at 
Phil-a-dhaoun, the Demon's Cliff. In this cliff is the far-famed Labig-Owen — 
Owen's Bed ; Owen being an outlaw, whose adventures live in the traditions of the 
glen that gave him shelter. They contrast strangely with its present aspect ; for in 
the midst of mountains, by the sides of rushing and foaming rivers, and amid as 
wild a scene as can well be pictured, civilisation nourishes. A dispensary crowns 
one of the hill-heights ; upon another stands a national school, presided over by a 
learned dominie, — learned in legends and languages ; and in the various gorges, 
near the car tracks, or beside the high-road, are scattered cottages, which speak of 
the care, kindness, and liberality of a good landlord — duly whitewashed within and 
without, with vegetable gardens before, and small yards behind, with here and 
there roses making vigorous and successful efforts to climb the walls. These 
cottages look so happy and cheerful, and form such striking contrasts to those 
which surround them, that the tourist will naturally ask to whom they belong, — 
who is the landlord of these fortunate tenants ? They stand upon the property of 
Herbert of Mucross, a resident Irish landlord, — one who is not less conscientious in 
discharging his duties than in maintaining his rights, and who, placed in the most 
beautiful locality of Great Britain, labours to give it physical and moral improve- 
ment. The Bed of Owen, the singular hill on which it stands, and the beautiful 
glen it looks down upon, we shall describe in one of our excursions from Killarney. 

The road runs for a mile or two round the base of Phil-a-dhaoun and the 
adjacent hills and cliffs, and rejoins the coach road to Killarney. At a small con- 
gregation of houses where the Killarney side of the glen may be said to commence, 
two roads branch off — the new road and the old road — into the town. Between both, 
and standing proudly on an eminence, is the ruined Castle of Kill aha, an ancient 
fortalice of the O'Donoghues of the Glens. The old road leads by Lough Kittane, 
a dull and dreary way ; but keeping in view the mountains, Cruchan, Kippagh, 
Mangerton, and Tore, and at length terminating in a striking view of the lower 
lake. The new road is more agreeable and picturesque ; it leads directly into the 
town, passing the entrance to the demense of Lord Kenmare. 

And so Killarney town is reached by way of Macroom, Ballyvourney, and 
Glennesk. 



afford ample and pleasant as well as profitable occupation for a day during a residence at the Lakes. 
Or, it is obvious the glen may be examined by tbose who proceed to Cork from Killarney by 
this route. Going to Killarney, the bridge referred to, where the road turns off, is not far from 
the house at which horses will be changed ; i.e. about four miles from Ballyvourney and ten from 
Killarney. 



KILCKEA CASTLE. 



45 



BY MACROOM, INCHAGEELA, AND GOUGANE BARRA, 
TO BANTRY AND GLENGARIFF. 




OUTH of the Lee, the Road to Macroom runs upon elevated 
ground, and, for several miles, commands fine views of the 
valley, through which the river pursues its tortuous course, 
and the hills on the opposite side, upon the slopes of which 
are many beautiful villas. A little to the right, almost on 
the brink of an overhanging cliff, is the castle of Carrigro- 
han. Two or three miles farther is the town of Ballincollig, 
a government manufactory of powder, and a barrack for 
South-west of the town about a mile are the remains of an 
ancient castle, once a stronghold of the Anglo-Saxon Barretts. Two miles farther is 
the small village of " the Ovens," famous for its limestone caves. About halfway 
between Cork and Macroom, are the friary and castle of Kilcrea. They were both 
built by Cormac, Lord of Mu skerry, the one for the protection of the other, and 



artillery and cavalry. 




stand on the banks of the small river Bride, a mile to the south of the mail-coach 
road. They are highly interesting and picturesque. The approach to both is over 



46 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



a long and narrow bridge, which appears to be as old as the venerable structures 
to which it leads. The castle is described by Smith as " a strong building, having 
an excellent staircase of a dark marble from bottom to top, about seventy feet high. 
The barbicans, platforms, and ditch still remain. On the east side is a large field 
called the Bavm, the only appendage formerly to great men's castles, — places that 
were used for dancing, goaling, and such diversions ; and where they also kept 
their cattle by night, to prevent their being carried off by wolves or their more 
rapacious neighbours." Much of this character it still retains, and the hand of 
time has been less busy with it than with others of its class. 

In the friary, or, as it is usually but erroneously called, " the abbey," are interred 
the bodies of a host of the Mac Carthys, and among them that of its founder, who 
died of wounds received in battle, in 1494. A considerable portion of the edifice 
still remains. It is 
divided into two 
principal parts — the 
convent and the 
church — and re- 
tains a character of 
considerable magni- 
ficence as well as of 
great extent. As 
in all the ancient 
churches, human 
bones are piled in 
every nook and 
cranny, thrust into 
corners, or gathered 
in heaps directly at 
the entrance — a 
sight far more re- 
volting than affect- 
ing. The tower of the church is still in a good state of preservation, and may be 
ascended to the top with a little difiiculty. Rows of ancient elm-trees lead to the 
venerable ruin. 

Between Kilcrea and Macroom there are several ruins of castles, once the 
strongholds of the Mac Sweeneys, powerful chieftains, although feudatories to 
the lords of Muskerry. On the high road, it is stated on the authority of Smith, 
there was a stone set up by one of the family, who were " anciently famous for 
hospitality, with an Irish inscription, signifying to all passengers to repair to the 
house of Mr. Edmund Mac Sweeney for entertainment." The historian adds, that, 




KILCREA ABBEY. 



GOUGANE BARRA. 



47 



in his time, the stone was still to be seen lying in a ditch, where it had been flung 
by a degenerate descendant, who " never throve afterwards." 

From Macroom to Inchageela, (i. e. " the Island of the Hostage "), a village mid- 
way between the town and Gougane Barra, the road becomes gradually wilder and 
more rugged : huge rocks overhang it, high hills look down upon them, and over 
these again the mountains tower — each and all clothed with purple heath and 
golden furze, and other plants that love the arid soil ; while here and there patches 
of cultivation have been snatched from them by the hand of industry and toil ; 
and from many a small fissure the smoke arises, giving token that civilisation is 
astir even in this region of savage grandeur and beauty. 

Soon after passing Inchageela, the Lee widens out into a sheet of water, forming 
the picturesque Lough Allua. The road winds for about three miles along its 
northern margin ; the rocks on one side, the clear and deep water on the other — 
a more perfect solitude it is impossible to imagine. Not a tree is to be seen ; but 
the rocks, as if to remedy the defect, have assumed forms the most singular and 
fantastic ; and, every now and then, seem to stay the further progress of the way- 
farer by pushing a monstrous base directly across his path. Yet a century and a 
half ago, these rocks and hills, as well as the valleys, were clothed with forests to 
the water's edge ; in their fastnesses, unfamiliar with the step of man, the red deer 
roved ; and often the labourer delves out, from a patch of mountain bog, some 
huge trunk that tells of the former occupiers of the soil — existing in decay many 
feet below the surface. Some three or four miles onwards, and we reach the first 
bridge that crosses the Lee — a bridge of many arches. We are now about two 
miles from the source of the noble river, in the singularly romantic lake of 
Gougane Barra. The car stops suddenly in the midst of remarkably savage 
scenery ; and while the horses rest, a guide is summoned, or rather is sure to be 
at hand, and the tourist prepares for a walk across the hill to the Holy Lough. 

The approach to Gougane Barra is now sufficiently easy ; although, a hundred 
years ago, a pilgrimage of two miles occupied two hours. Dr. Smith pathetically 
describes the toil ; he calls it " the rudest highway that ever was passed ; a well- 
spirited beast trembles at every step : some parts of the road lie shelving from one 
side to the other, which often trips up a horse ; other places are pointed rocks, 
standing like so many sugar-loaves, from one to three feet high, between which 
a horse must take time to place and fix his feet." 

A sudden .turning in the road brings the tourist within view, and almost over, 
the lake of Gougane Barra ; a scene of more utter loneliness, stern grandeur, or 
savage magnificence, it is difficult to conceive ; redeemed, however, as all things 
savage are, by one passage of gentle and inviting beauty, upon which the eye turns 
as to a spring-well in the desert — the little island with its group of graceful ash- 
trees and ruined chapel. Down from the surrounding mountains rush numerous 



48 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY, 



streams, tributaries to the lake, that collects and sends them forth in a bountiful 
river — for here the Lee has its source — until they form the noble harbour of Cork, 
and lose themselves in the broad Atlantic. In summer these streams are gentle 
rills, but in winter foaming cataracts * rushing over ridges of projecting rocks, and 
baring them even of the lichen that strives to cling to their sides. We literally 
" hopped " across the river Lee. 

When the traveller stands within this amphitheatre of hills, he feels, as it were, 
severed from his fellow-beings — as if imprisoned for ever ; for on whichever side 
he looks, escape from the valley seems impossible ; " so that if a person," writes 
the old historian, " were carried into it blindfold, it would seem almost impossible, 
without the wings of an eagle, to get out — the mountains forming, as it were, a 
wall of rocks some hundred yards high." 

The small island is nearly mid-way in the lake ; a rude artificial causeway leads 
into it from the mainland. This is the famous hermitage of St. Fin Bar, who is 




y 'p C - 




GOUGANE BARRA. 



said to have lived here previous to his founding the cathedral of Cork. It is 
classed among the " holiest " places in Ireland, and has long been a favourite resort 
of devotees, in the confident expectation that its consecrated waters have power to 
heal all kinds of diseases ; making the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame 



HOLY WELLS. 



49 



to walk. Here, at certain seasons — twice in the year — they assemble in crowds, 
bringing their sick children and ailing animals to bathe ; and upon the neigh- 
bouring bushes and wooden crosses hang fragments of clothes, or halters and 
spancels, in proof that to the various animals, biped and quadruped, the lake has 
performed the anticipated miracle of making them whole. 

These wells are to be found in nearly all the parishes of the kingdom : they are 
generally, as we have intimated, betokened by rude crosses immediately above them, 
by fragments of cloth, and bits of rags of all colours, hung upon the neighbouring 
bushes and left as memorials ; sometimes the crutches of convalescent visitors are 
bequeathed as offerings, and not unfrequently small buildings, for prayer and 
shelter, have been raised above and around them. As an example, we copy the far- 
famed and wonder-working well of St. 
Dolough within a few miles of Dublin, 
and on the road to the castle of Malahide. 
Not long ago we visited St. Konogue's 
Well, a place high in repute, distant a 
few miles from Cork. There were not 
above a hundred persons of both sexes 
present, and scarcely a dozen cars were on 
the ground ; the scene was remarkably 
tranquil ; there were baskets full of cakes 
and biscuits for sale, but no whiskey. 
The beggars were of course numerous as 
usual — the halt, the maimed, the blind, 
and persons afflicted with all manner of 
diseases ; and we were petitioned for 
charity, " for the love of God," in voices 
of all tones, from the bass of the sturdy 
vendor of relics, to the squeaking treble 
of the miserable baccach (lame man). 
But there was no drinking, no swearing, 
no fighting; the visitors appeared sober 
in mind as well as in habit, and acted as though they considered the well a place for 
serious reflection rather than for idleness and dissipation. 

The scene we have described presented a striking contrast to what we recollect 
it about twenty years ago, when the " pattern " at St. Ronogue's Well was the 
signal for assembling the worthless and the dissipated of the whole county, when 
to the superstitious rites of the morning succeeded the saturnalia of the evening — 
the having drunk of the holy water being considered as a licence for every sort 
of debauchery ; and it was rare indeed that the crowds (which usually amounted 




ST. DOLOUGH S WELL. 



50 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




to some thousands) separated without having witnessed a fight between two 
factions, who invariably fixed the day and place for a settlement of their differ- 
ences. Throughout Ireland similar and equally beneficial changes have taken 
place ; and pictures of be- 
sotted bigotry and disgusting 
brutality have even now re- 
ference only to times past. 

But to return to Gougane 
Barra. The greater portion 
of the island is covered by 
the ruins of a chapel with its 
appurtenant buildings, and a 
large court or cloister contain- 
ing eight arched cells. In 
these arched cells the penance 
is performed. The penitent 
proceeds to one, where he re- 
peats five " aves " and five " paters," adding five prayers to each of the cells 
subsequently visited, making forty to be said at the eighth cell ; and the whole, 
with the addition of five more, are to be repeated at a small chapel outside. 
First, however, five prayers must have been said at " the tomb of Father 
O'Mahony " — a priest who about the beginning of the last century closed a 
life of seclusion here. * A spot better fitted for gloomy anchorite or stern 
ascetic, who desired perfect seclusion from 

" The cheerful haunt of men and herds," 

it would be hard to find; but here, too, undoubtedly, study might have prepared the 
early Christian missionary for the " labour of love " he was called upon to undertake. 
The sacred character of Gougane Barra has, it is said, preserved it from the 
pest of so many Irish lakes — the monster worm or enchanted eel. We have 
heard stories of them in abundance ; and have " seen the man who had seen " the 
metamorphosed demon that infests the little lough on the top of Mount Gabriel — 



ST. RONOGUES WELL. 



* We found in the churchyard a large broken slab, on which were engraved full instructions 
to penitents. From its appearance it is not likely to be more than a hundred years old. It con- 
tains some rudely sculptured crosses, cups, books, and circles. The inscription is long, and, 
although curious, not worth extracting. The following, however, is its most remarkable pas- 
sage : — " It is said, and probable, that Saint Fin Barry, in his sanctimony, has had recourse to 
this place, from whom it derives the name of Gaggin Barry ; the duty usually performed hereat, 
purporting to be the devotion of the Eounds, is exacted in the following manner," &c. &c. The 
stone records the death of the Eev. Denis O'Mahony as taking place in 1700. 



GOUGANE BARRA. 51 



it is " deeper than did ever plummet sound ; " yet not so deep but that it supplies 
a home to one of these " things horrible." Often, but always at night, the hideous 
head of the serpent is raised above the surface of the water ; and if a cow be 
missing from some neighbouring herd, there is no difficulty in ascertaining its fate 
— it has been made " a toothful for the ould enemy." In ancient times, indeed, 
the blessed isle of St. Fin Bar was subjected to the visits of such an intruder ; 
who having been guilty of the imprudence and impudence of snatching, from the 
very hand of the officiating priest, the loneen — a vessel for holding holy water — 
as he was in the act of sprinkling with it a crowd of devotees, witnesses of the 
sacrilegious act, he was expelled the neighbourhood for his wickedness, and has 
never since ventured to leave his loathsome slime upon the green banks of the lake. 

The Tourist will greatly enjoy a visit to the Holy Lake, not only as intro- 
ducing him to one of the strongholds of which superstition held possession for 
centuries ; but the stern and sterile grandeur of the place will astonish him, if 
perchance here his first acquaintance shall have been formed with the wild magni- 
ficence of Nature in Ireland. 

The journey is resumed, and the far-famed pass of Keim-an-eigh k entered. 
Perhaps in no part of the kingdom is there to be found a place so utterly desolate 
and gloomy. A mountain has been divided by some convulsion of nature ; and the 
narrow pass, nearly two miles in length, is overhung, on either side, by perpen- 
dicular masses clothed in wild ivy and underwood, with, occasionally, a stunted 
yew-tree or arbutus growing among them. At every step advance seems impossible 
— some huge rock jutting out into the path, and, on sweeping round it, seeming to 
conduct only to some barrier still more insurmountable ; while from all sides rush 
down the " wild fountains," and, forming for themselves a rugged channel, make 
their way onward — the first tributary offering to the gentle and fruitful Lee : — 

" Here, amidst heaps 
Of mountain wrecks, on either side thrown high, 
The wide-spread traces of its watery might, 
The tortuous channel wound." 

No where has Nature assumed a more appalling aspect, or manifested a more stern 
resolve to dwell in her own loneliness and grandeur undisturbed by any living 
thing — for even the birds seem to shun a solitude so awful ; and the hum of bee 
or chirp of grasshopper is never heard within its precincts. Our print affords but 
a poor idea of a scene so magnificent. 

Protected by these fortresses of rocks, ages ago, the outlawed O'Sullivans and 
O'Learys kept their freedom, and laughed to scorn the sword and fetter of the 
Saxon ; and from these " mountains inaccessible " they made occasional sallies, 
avenging themselves upon, and bearing off the flocks and herds of, the stranger. 
As may be expected, in modern times, these rocky fortresses have given shelter, 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



often, to bands of lawless or disaffected men : here, in some deep dell, might have 
been detected the light cmi of smoke issuing from the roof of some illicit still- 
cabin, to disturb the inmates of which would have required a very strong force of 
the revenue. Among these rocks, too, 
the smugglers had many a cave, in 
which they deposited their goods until 
suspicion had been lulled on the high- 
ways, so that they might be conveyed 
in safety to the neighbouring towns. 
And here, too, men who had set them- 
selves in battle array against the law, 
have often met to arrange their plans 
for carrying destruction into the adjoin- 
ing valleys. 

From " the Pass " to Bantry the 
road is wild, and the land is but little 
cultivated. It is, however, full of ob- 
jects that cannot fail to interest the 
stranger. — First, he will note the source 
of a river that will accompany him 
all the way to Bantry Bay — the river 
Ouvane issuing from a small crevice 
in the rock, creeping along among huge 
stones, at length becoming a brawling 

and angry stream, and ere long a broad river making its way into the sea. 
The ruined castle of Carriganass — one of the old fortalices of the O'Sullivans 
— lies directly in his path ; and a little to the left is the picturesque ruin of 
a venerable church — with its small churchyard in the centre of a group of 
aged trees. A view of the Bay is soon obtained — a glorious accession to the 
landscape ; and just at the turn where the road branches off — the left leading 
to Bantry, the right to Glengariff — is the fine waterfall of Dunamarc, at times a 
magnificent sight. 

At this spot, the Tourist will be called upon to decide whether he will proceed 
to Bantry, two miles distant, or to Glengariff, distant eight miles. There are 
many strong reasons why he should visit Bantry (although he is not compelled to 
do so, en route to Killarney), and therefore to that town we shall first conduct 
him. 




KEIM-AN-EIGH. 



BANTRY. 



THE COAST ROAD TO BANTRY AND GLENGARIFF. 



ONDUCTING the tourist into Kerry, we pursue 

the coast road to Bantry and Glengariff ; and so 

proceed on our course through Kenmare. But as 

this road, although travelled by a public coach, is not 

likely to be very frequently selected by persons whose 

only business is pleasure, we shall pass over it somewhat 

rapidly. 

The port of Kinsale, although not in the direct route, 
may be visited in the way. The town is exceedingly in- 
teresting • and as, for a very considerable period, it was the 
most celebrated and frequented of the southern harbours of Ireland 
-taking precedence of that of Cork — it occupies a full and prominent page 
in Irish history. Approached from Cork (from which it is distant nineteen 
miles), it is seen to great advantage. It is built on the side of a hill ; its 
character is peculiarly quaint : the streets are remarkably narrow, and many of 
the houses have projecting windows like those of the Spaniards, by whom some of 
them were probably built ; for during the reign of Elizabeth, and at subsequent 
periods, Spain made this town and its neighbourhood a " seat of war." 





THE CHURCH OF ST. MULTOSB. 



54 



A WEEK AT KILLAKNEY. 



The parish church is dedicated to a female saint — St. Multose or Multosia — by 
whom it is said to have been erected in the fourteenth century. A legend is told 
in connexion with it. — When the Saint was building it, which she did with her 
own hands, she desired to place a large stone, too heavy for her to lift. Seeing two 
men passing, one a native of the town, the other a stranger to it, she summoned 
them to her aid ; the native refused to help her, but the stranger laboured until 
her object was effected. Upon which she gave her blessing to the one, and left her 
curse with the other. It is a remarkable fact, and one that does not depend 
upon the authority of tradition, that, generally, when two inhabitants of the town 
niarry, they will not go through the ceremony within the walls of St. Multose, 
but are "united" at some church in the neighbourhood; and we were supplied 
with proofs in support of the legend, by reference to several unlucky couples who 
had been so unwisely sceptical as to neglect the ancient warning. 

The harbour of Kinsale, although greatly inferior to that of Cork, is capacious, 
deep, and well sheltered. It is defended by a strong fort, called Charles Fort, so 
called in honour of Charles II., and erected by the Duke of Ormond in 1681. 




KINSALE HARBOUR. 



The accompanying print represents the fort, the block-house, and covered way, 
with a sloop of war beating in, and a pilot-boat under a foresail. The " Old 
Head," the point nearest the sea, has long been a famous landmark for mariners. 

The road from Kinsale to Inishannon (the village first reached on the direct 
line from Cork, from which it is distant fifteen miles and a half) passes along the 
banks of the river Bandon — according to Spenser, " the pleasant Bandon crowned 
by many a wood." The woods, however, have long since fallen under the ruthless 
axe of the woodman. 

About midway to Inishannon, a pretty village that skirts the clear and rapid 



SHIP-POOL CASTLE. DUNDANEERE CASTLE. 



55 




SHIP-POOL CASTLE. 



river, is the ancient castle of Ship-pool, a structure erected by the Roches ; 
and between Inishannon 
and Bandon is the castle 
of Dundaneere (or Down- 
daniel), which stands near 
the confluence of the rivers 
Brinny and Bandon. It 
is stated by Dr. Smith that 
"about the year 1612, the 
East India Company of 
England had a settlement 
here for carrying on iron- 
works, and building large 
ships, for which uses they 
purchased the adjacent 
lands and woods : the fol- 
lowing year, two new ships 
of five hundred tons were 
launched, and a dock was 
erected for building more. 
They kept a garrison in the castle, and built three villages." Unhappily the old 
curse of Ireland — jealousy of "the stranger" — prevailed; the Company were so 
much " disturbed in their undertakings," and such was the " implacable spirit of 
the Irish against them, that by continually doing them several ill-offices they forced 
them at length to quit the country." The castle is now a complete ruin, but one 
of the most striking and 
interesting we have vi- 
sited; it commands a 
charming point of the 
river. The surround- 
ing scenery is perfectly 
beautiful, and the neigh- 
bouring hills are co- 
vered with woods and 
villas. The road leads 
along the banks of 
" the pleasant Bandon " 
the whole way to the 
town to which it gives 
name. It was formerly 




56 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



called Bandon Bridge, and was built by the first Earl of Cork, who, in a 
letter to Mr. Secretary Cook, dated April 13, 1632, describes "the place in which 
it is situated," as " upon a great district of the country that was until lately a 
mere waste of bog and wood, serving for a retreat and harbour to wood-kernes, 
rebels, thieves, and wolves." The town is of considerable size, populous and 
nourishing, being the great thoroughfare into Carbery. It belongs partly to the 
Duke of Devonshire, and partly to the Earl of Bandon, whose beautiful seat, 
Castle Bernard, is in its immediate neighbourhood. 

From Bandon to Bantry there are two roads : the northern and nearest, through 
Ballyneen, Dunmanway, and Drimoleague \ and the southern and most picturesque, 
along the coast through Clonakilty, Ross-Carbery, and Skibbereen. Ballyneen 
and Drimoleague are small villages ; Dunmanway is a poor town, although the 
only one in a very large district. The shortest and most direct road from Cork to 
Bantry runs, after leaving Bandon, through this town, Dunmanway being distant 
from Bandon eighteen miles, and Bantry from Dunmanway twenty-two miles ; 
Bantry being by this route sixty miles from Cork. 

The coast road, however, runs from Bandon almost due south to Clonakilty. 
Although a sea-port, Clonakilty carries on but small trade ; and is a place of no 
importance. Ross-Carbery demands more particular notice. It is one of the 
oldest towns in Ireland, the ancient name being Ross- Alithri— " the field of 
pilgrimage ; " and according to Hanmer, " there was here anciently a famous 
university, whereto resorted all the south-west part of Ireland for learning sake." 
It was formerly a bishop's see, but was united with that of Cork, and, recently, 
also with that of Cloyne. A glance at the map of the county of Cork will convey 
some idea of the numerous bays and harbours along the coast. It is for the 
most part exceedingly wild and rugged : for miles upon miles there is not a 
single tree to be seen; but the ocean around it is dotted with small islands, 
against which the breakers dash and foam. The peculiar scenery has been aptly 
described by Dean Swift, in a Latin poem — " Carberise Rupes " * — from which the 
following passage is translated : — 

" With hoarse rebuff, the swelling seas rebound 
From sbore to shore ; the rocks return the sound. 
The dreadful murmur heaven's high concave cleaves, 
And Neptune shrinks beneath his subject waves; 
For long the whirling winds and beating tides 
Had scooped a vault into his nether sides ; 
Now yields the base, the summits nod, now urge 
Their headlong course, and lash the sounding surge." 

* A tower near Castle Townsend is pointed out as the place in which the Dean composed the 
poem. It is now a complete ruin, being the mere shell of a turret overgrown with ivy but com- 
manding a beautiful prospect of the harbour and over the sea. 



LOUGH HYNE. 



57 



Between the towns of Ross-Carbery and Skibbereen, and at the head of Glan- 
dore Harbour, the tourist passes along a beautiful and picturesque road, where 

" Lakes upon lakes interminably gleam," 
and to one point, in particular, his attention should be directed — the glen called 
" The Leap," the ancient boundary which divided the civilized from the uncivilized, 
"beyond the Leap beyond the law" being, even within our own memory, an 
accepted proverb. Not far from Skibbereen is a singular salt-water lake, Lough 
Hyne, or Ine (the Deep Lake). In the centre is a long island, upon which are the 





LOUGH HYNE. 

ruins of one of the castles of the O'Driscolls. It is surrounded by picturesque 
hills, some rocky and precipitous, others steep and woody, rising from the lake. 
Mr. Willes made his sketch from a church-yard, peculiar to Ireland, devoted 
exclusively to the interment of children, and where there was formerly a chapel 
dedicated to St. Bridget. In the foreground is one of the singular ring-stones or 
pillar-stones, engraven with inscrutable characters. It is immortalized in tra- 
ditionary lore,- and the country people attach great value to it, affirming that it has 
been gifted by the Patron Saint with miraculous power — at least for its own pre- 
servation. It has been repeatedly removed to form lintels for doors, and to 
answer various other purposes, but always found its way back again to its original 
station. Once it was taken off by a gang of sacrilegious sailors, and thrown into 
the sea ; when, after raising a terrific storm, it was beheld, next day, safely and 

E 



58 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



soundly in its own proper place. With this lake there is also connected another 
legend — but one common to nearly all the deep-bedded and lonely loughs, with 
" gloomy shores ;" for Lough Hyne 

" Skylark never warbles o'er." 
As at Glendalough, the sweet birds " singing to heaven's gate " having disturbed 
the saint at her orisons, she prayed to the Virgin to silence their song ; and was so 
far answered, that they were ordered into a solitude less sacred to penitence and 
prayer. The coast, south-west of Skibbereen, is dotted with islands — 

" Sea-girt isles, 
That, like to rich and various gems, inlay 
The unadorned bosom of the deep ;" 

the most famous of which is Cape Clear. Inisherken, immediately opposite 
Baltimore Harbour, is full of interest : its ruined abbey is pictured in the annexed 




INISHERKEN. 

print. The O'Driscolls had formerly castles here, which defended the entrance 
to the harbour. Cape Clear — the well-known landmark for vessels outward or 
homeward bound — is the most southern point of Ireland. In the year 1 750 there 
were, according to Smith, in the island, about four hundred families : they do not 
seem to have increased, for the latest returns give the population as less than eleven 
hundred.* Indeed it is not likely that it could supply the means of existence to 
a larger number — the island being only three miles long and one mile and a half in 



* The inhabitants exist almost in a state of nature ; depending for food upon the potato crops, 
and the fish that swarm round their coast ; seldom visit the mainland ; and are devotedly attached 
to their rugged strand, and almost as rugged plain,— a temporary exile from which they consider 
& serious affliction. 



DUNANORE CASTLE. CROOKHAVEN. 



59 



breadth. On the south side is the light-house, which, it is said, may be dis- 
tinguished in clear weather from a distance of twenty-eight nautical miles. On 
the north-west point of the island is the singularly picturesque ruin of the castle of 
Dunanore, or the Golden Fort — represented in the annexed print. It stands on a 
rock ; a very narrow passage leads to it : the path being so steep and high, and the 




DUNANORE CASTLE. 



sea dashing and foaming against it on either side, the ascent to it is a somewhat 
perilous task. " When I got to the top of the castle," says Dr. Smith, " and beheld 
the ocean roaring round me, I wished heartily to be again on the mainland." 
Legends enough to make a volume are connected with this remarkable ruin ; it was 
formerly a stronghold of the O'Driscolls — some of whom are stated to have mingled 
the hospitalities of the Irish chieftain with the reckless darings of the buccaneer. 
To the west of Baltimore is the harbour of Crookhaven, separated by a narrow 




CROOKHAVEN. 



promontory from the beautiful Dunmanus Bay, which another promontory divides 
from the famous Bay of Bantry. 

e2 



60 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



The mail- coach road from Skibbereen to Bantiy runs through a wild and unin- 
teresting country ; and the traveller who desires to examine the most peculiar and 
picturesque portion of the Irish coast will have to pursue a route less easy of 
access, but far more certain of recompense for the expenditure of time and labour. 
The mountains appear to rise directly from the sea, as if they were but the con- 
tinuations of mountains underneath the ocean ; small villages are thickly scattered 
at their base. Mount Gabriel, bleak and barren from the foot to the summit, looks 
down upon the poor village — once a famous collegiate town — of Schull. 

Lakes are to be seen in every valley, upon the mountain sides and on their 
summits, from whence pour down the streams that now and then break in cataracts 
over precipices ; and on the opposite sides the sea, with its stores of green islands, 
or black rocks — creeks and bays and harbours running into the land ; and beyond 
all the broad Atlantic, that affords no resting-place for the sea-bird until he closes 
up his wings and stands on the continent of America. 

The ocean with its tales of shipwrecks and piracies, the land with its legends 
and traditions, afford themes to fill folios of interest and excitement ; every castle 
(of which there remain the ruins of hundreds) has its story of bold adventure. 

The Lakes, too, are fertile of legends : for examples — that on the summit of 
Mount Gabriel, with its eternal serpent and depth that has never been fathomed ; 
Loughdrine, where on a certain day of every year the islands used to dance 
merrily, change places, and shift from one side to the other from sunset to sunrise ; 
Ballinlough, where the fairies keep nightly guard, protecting the passage that leads 
from the ancient rath that borders it to the bottom, where nourishes the Thiema- 
na-oge — " the land of perpetual youth." The stranger will, in short, find, wherever 
he travels, in this wild and comparatively primitive neighbourhood, a rich 
abundance to interest, excite, and amuse, and not a little to inform and instruct. 

And so, by this Coast Route, the tourist arrives at Bantiy. A brief sojourn 
here will amply recompense ; principally, however, by the views to be obtained 
from the summits of adjacent hills, or by a sail across the Bay. But, as we shall 
elsewhere observe, the purpose of visiting Killarney is little advanced by passing 
through Bantiy. By this route, however, it is necessarily taken in the way ; and 
it is more than probable that fatigue, if there be no other motive, will induce the 
traveller to remain a night in the town, and continue his journey with the morrow. 




VO/7-?^?^ t-AJaW, 



BANTRY BAY. 



61 



BANTRY, GLENGARIFF, KENMARE. 




OURNEYING either by the Coast route, the route through 
Dunmanway, or the route through Gougane Barra, the tourist 
arrives at Bantry. The far-famed " Bay " is, perhaps, 
unsurpassed by any harbour of the kingdom for natural 
beauties combined with natural advantages. As we ap- 
proach it, along the dreary road from Skibbereen, a sudden 
turn, at the base of a rugged hill, brings us suddenly 
within view of the most striking objects which make up 
the glorious scene. Far away, in the distant background, 
tower and meet the clouds Mangerton and the Reeks; nearer, rises Hungry 
Hill, the Sugar Loaf, and a long range — the Caha Mountains ; among which, 
it is said, and said on good authority, there are no fewer than three hundred 
and sixty-five lakes — the number having, of course, suggested a legend that 
some holy saint prayed effectually for one to supply water for each day of the year. 
Little flat and fertile islands lie at the feet of the spectator ; and, nearly facing the 




BANTRY BAY. 



town, Whiddy Island, with its fierce-looking fortifications, and its fields rich with 
the promised harvest. It is impossible to do justice to the exceeding grandeur 



02 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



find surpassing loveliness of the scene ; the whole of it is taken in by the eye at 
once. We are not called upon to turn from side to side for new objects to admire 
— we gaze upon it all; and he must be indeed dead to nature who does not drink 
in as delicious a draught as Nature, in the fulness of her bounty, ever presented. 

The road into the town — a town that has been too truly described as " a seaport 
without trade, a harbour without shipping, and a coast with a failing fishery " — 
runs immediately under the fine demesne of the Earl of Bantry — and all the way 
it is one continued line of beauty : we never for a moment lose sight of the distant 
mountains, or the foreground of green islands; while the ear is gladdened by the 
mingled harmony of the rippling waves, and the birds that sing among the foliage 
of the thickly and gracefully wooded plantations. 

There are not many islands in this vast expanse of water — " Whiddy" is the 
largest ; and there are besides Hog, Horse, Coney, and Chapel islands, flung into 
the glorious bay — landlocked, as we have said, by gigantic abrupt headlands, 
beyond which the Killarney mountains seem to tower into the clouds. 

The Bay is memorable in history as having been twice entered by a French 
force, for the invasion of Ireland — the first in 1689 in aid of James II.; the next 
in 1796 : — some details concerning the latter cannot fail to interest our readers. 

The project no doubt originated with Theobald Wolfe Tone, who had visited 
France, after a residence in America, as agent for the Society of United Irishmen, 
and obtained a commission in the French service.* 

On the 1st of December, Tone embarked on board the " Indomptable," a ship of 
the line, and on the 1 6th of December the fleet " for the invasion of Ireland " set 
sail in two divisions from the port of Brest. It consisted of 17 ships of the line, 
13 frigates, 5 corvettes, 2 gun-boats, and 6 transports; with about 14,000 men, 
45,000 stand of arms, and an ample supply of money for the purposes of the 
expedition. In their passage from the harbour, as if ominous of the disasters they 
were subsequently to encounter, one of their ships, a seventy-four, struck on a rock, 
and of 550 men on board only thirty were saved; and a few days afterwards 
another was driven on shore, when 1,000 out of 1,800 perished. After other 
disastrous accidents — every ship of the line being more or less injured — the main 
body arrived off the coast of Ireland, and on the 22d anchored off Bere Island, in 

* Tone afterwards made another attempt to introduce the French into Ireland — in 1798. He 
was captured in the Hoche, off Donegal ; transmitted to Dublin, tried by court-martial, and 
sentenced to death. He appeared at his trial in French uniform ; and, on hearing the sentence, 
requested to be shot as a soldier holding a commission in the French service, under the name of 
Smith : the request was of course refused. On the evening previous to the day fixed for his 
execution, he wounded himself in the throat so desperately, that he could not be moved without 
the probability of dying before he reached the scaffold ; after lingering in this state for about a 
week, he died in prison, on the 19th November, 1798. 



BANTRY BAY. — THE FRENCH INVASION. 63 



Bantry Bay. Intelligence of the event was, as rapidly as possible, commnnicated 
to the Irish and English governments. Not the slightest preparation, however, 
had been made to meet the enemy; and, but for the interposition of Divine Pro- 
vidence, Ireland must have been involved in a bloody and desolating oivil-war. 

For several days previous, the weather had been even more than usually stormy, 
at this period of the year ; and when the wind lulled, a dense fog overspread the 
sea, so that the Frenoh ships were seeking each other, in vain, along the ocean. 
Of the 43 that quitted Brest, 16 only anchored at Bantry; next day, a heavy gale 
once more dispersed them. On the morning of the 26th, others having parted 
company, the fleet was reduced to seven sail of the line and one frigate. The force 
in men had by this time dwindled to 4,168; it was, therefore, resolved at a council 
of war " not to attempt a landing, as no demonstration had been made " by the 
Irish on shore in favour of the French ; * and it was determined to put out to sea, 

* The French had marvellously miscalculated as to the cooperation they anticipated from the 
Irish people ; who were, in 1796, totally unprepared to receive them as friends, or to adopt the 
republican principles and government they designed to disseminate and establish. In his me- 
morials to the Directory, Tone had represented the Irish as " fixing their eyes most earnestly on 
France," as " eager to fly to the standard of the republic ; " the Catholics as " ready to join it to 
a man;" and that " it would be just as easy, in a month, to have an army in Ireland of 200,000 
men as 10,000." Whether he had wilfully misstated the fact, or whether his sanguine tempera- 
ment had led him to believe that his countrymen would join the French en masse, it is difficult 
to say ; but it is certain that the invaders would have been received by the Irish generally, not as 
friends, but as enemies. Along the coast, the south and west, most distinctly threatened, the 
peasants were actually in arms — such arms as they could command — to repel them. We have 
frequently heard Colonel Hall state that on his march to Bantry his men were cheered by the 
peasantry, supplied with food and drink by them, and received unequivocal demonstrations of their 
resolves to fight upon their cabin-thresholds against the entrance of a Frenchman. (Colonel Hall 
commanded the small force of about 700 men, hastily collected, and foolishly sent " to oppose 
the landing of the French.") In the London Gazette of the 7th of January, 1797, this feeling 
is particularly adverted to. " The accounts of the disposition of the country where the troops 
are assembled are as favourable as possible, and the greatest loyalty has manifested itself through- 
out the kingdom. In the south and west, when the troops have been in motion, they have been 
met by the country people of all descriptions with provisions and all sorts of accommodations 
to facilitate their march ; and every demonstration has been given of the zeal and ardour to oppose 
the enemy in every place where it could be supposed a descent might be attempted." The Gazette 
of the 17th contains a letter from the lord-lieutenant (Earl Camden), in which, after noticing 
the good disposition evinced by the troops, his excellency states, " The roads, which in parts 
were rendered impassable by the snow, were cleared by the peasantry. The poor people often 
shared their potatoes with the soldiers. * * * In short, had the enemy landed, their hope of 
assistance from the inhabitants would have been totally disappointed." Every account published 
at the time bears out this statement. Our own experience of the Irish justifies us in asserting 
that, even now, they have neither sympathy with, nor affection for the French ; and that under 
no circumstances could the majority of the people be brought to consider them as desirable 
allies. 



G4 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



and to cruise oft" the Shannon, in the hope that the dissevered armament might be 
concentrated there. On the 27th, they weighed anchor and quitted the Bay; but 
on the 1st of January a portion of them returned, and remained inactive for two 
or three days. By degrees, ship after ship of the once formidable fleet entered the 
French harbours; and on the loth, General Hoche himself, in the Fraternite, 
reached Rochelle, having had several narrow escapes from capture by the English 
fleet. 

Bantry was, thus, soon freed from the presence of the invaders ; no Frenchmen 
having trodden upon Irish ground, with the exception of an officer and seven men, 
who, being sent in a boat to reconnoitre, were taken prisoners by Mr. James 
O'Sullivan, of Berehaven. 

The storm that scattered the French fleet, and, under Providence, preserved 
Ireland from civil war, and contamination by the atrocious principles of the 
republicans of 1793, is still remembered in the vicinity of Bantry Bay, where it is 
referred to as an epoch to assist memory. 

To visit Glengariff, the tourist may proceed either by land round the Bay, or 
by sea across it. It will be a pleasant row, introducing to a remarkably beautiful 
scene ; but the road is, perhaps, preferable, inasmuch as a noble view of the Bay 
will be obtained from the hills above Bantry or Glengariff, or by taking a boat 
a mile or two from the shore of either. The road — although " a new road " — 
is exceedingly wild and picturesque. About two miles from the town the Miallock, 
" the murmuring river," is crossed by a small bridge, close to which is the Fall of 
Dunamarc. 

The traveller should not pass unnoticed a mountain, north-west of Bantry 
several miles: but seen from all parts of the road he journeys. It is the 
mountain of the Priest's Leap — formerly the principal line of communication 
between the two most picturesque portions of Irish scenery, Glengariff and Kil- 
lamey, but now abandoned for one of the best roads in the kingdom. Besides 
considerably abridging the distance between them, this old road possesses to perfec- 
tion the characteristics of the fine old vigorous and uncompromising system of 
road-making, now exploded, that was observant only of the straightest line of 
access — following as nearly as possible the flight of the bird — regardless alike of 
acclivity or declivity, of cliff or crag, of stream or torrent. In this respect the 
Priest's Leap road offers to every student of the ancient mystery of road-making 
the fairest subject for inquiry and contemplation ; nothing can be more direct than 
its up-hill flights, or more decided and unswerving than its downward progressions ; 
no mountain elevation, however bristling with crags or formidable the aspect of its 
precipitous sides, deterred the stern and uncompromising engineer who laid it down. 
He carried it over the loftiest summits, the wildest moors, at the bottoms of the 
most desolate glens, and along the most dizzy steeps overlooking the deepest dells. 



THE LEGEND STONE. 



65 



A savage-looking defile is sometimes made available as a conduit for every ferocious 
breeze that loves to howl and sweep along such localities ; and the loneliness of 
many of the scenes is emphatically marked by the significant " leacht," or stone- 
heap, that points out the spot where, in other times, some solitary traveller met his 
fate from the way-side plunderer. Such alarming " hints " are now, indeed, rare ; 
and, of later years, the record of acts of violence, committed in the security of 
these seldom-trodden paths, is a barren one. The heaps of stones, to indicate 
where deeds of murder have been done, still remain, however; and to the present 
day the peasant discharges what he considers his solemn duty by flinging, as he 
walks or rides by, a contribution to the mass. 

To the lover of the wild, the picturesque, and the romantic, we recommend this 
road for his special enjoyment. Glorious is its scenery over mountain and through 
glen. The broad bay of Bantry is glistening far beneath, and the blue shores of 
Iveragh and Bere in the distance are noble features in the majestic panorama. Nor 
has the voice of tradition failed, or become silent, among these hills ; many a wild 
legend and whimsical fiction may be gathered, by a little kindness, from their 
shrewd, inquisitive, and really imaginative inhabitants. 

Nearly midway in the course of the mountain road stand the ruins of one of 
those small ancient churches, whose era, from their style — the Romanesque — must 
be placed between the fifth and eleventh centuries. A portion of the walls only 
remains. The stones are large and Cyclopean, curiously jointed, and well-fashioned. 
We were told that it is " one of 
the first churches called at Rome " 
— a traditional record of its high 
antiquity. Outside the burial- 
ground is a perfect curiosity; — a 
natural rock of a tabular form 
with five basin-like hollows on 
the surface, of four or five inches 
in depth, and about a foot in 
diameter. These are severally 
filled with water, and in each is a 
stone of a long oval form fitting 
the space fully. The whole forms a petrified dairy 
the ovals the rolls of butter. 

The history of this strange monument is, that, in ancient times, a woman lived 
here, who, not respecting the commandment against thieving, at night milked the 
cows of her neighbours, and transferred the milk as well as the butter to her own 
dairy. Suspected at length, the hue-and-cry was raised against her; and Saint 
Fiachna, who led a holy life at the church we have referred to, resolved to punish 




^.-- ^S=£?3fc£^=- 



THE LEGEND-STONE. 



-the basins being the " keelers," 



66 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



the culprit. He mounted his horse to visit her, but she fled. The Saint as he 

passed turned her dairy to stone, and then descended the hill towards the river in 

pursuit of her. In crossing the stream his horse left his hoof-marks on a stone in 

the centre of it; this we did not choose to wet ourselves to look at, but we were 

assured by several that it was there. He then drove up the opposite hill-side, 

where, about midway, he overtook the criminal of 

whom he was in chase, and instantly turned her 

into stone; and there she still stands, the Irish 

" Lot's Wife," — not, however, a pillar of salt, but 

a goodly dallan of six feet in height; yet still 

holding a resemblance to the original lady. The 

tree beside it grew out of the " kippin " of the 

spancel which she carried in her hand, and with 

which she was accustomed to tie the cows' legs at 

milking. And see what a goodly picture it now 

makes as a blooming hawthorn ! It is a singular 

and striking object, standing, as it does, in the 

midst of a mountain solitude. 

In the immediate vicinity of Dunamarc, accord- 
ing to one of the fanciful traditions of Keating, 
the first human foot trod upon Irish ground— Ladra 
having effected a landing in Ireland exactly forty 
days before the Flood. After passing three or four 
miles of good road, and comparatively cultivated 
land, we enter a rude and rugged district; barren 
hills towering over us at either side, and among 
them rapid streams rushing over gigantic stones 

down into the valleys. We left to the right an interesting object — a little chapel 
nestling among the barren hills; and a short way farther on we passed one of those 
singular dwelling-places, by no means rare in this wild part of the country. We 
were startled by a human form issuing from a mass of huge rocks ; and, upon 
inquiry, learned that a family actually lived in a hole which the rocks protected 
and sheltered. They had evidently fallen, ages ago, in the position they retained, 
enclosing and covering a natural chamber. On entering, we found a woman with 
three children — the man was at work in the adjacent " garden ;" — here they con- 
trived to exist during the summer months ; for we ascertained that in winter they 
quitted it for some neighbouring town, where they worked or begged, according to 
circumstances. The woman replied to our few questions with cheerfulness and 
civility ; and to an expression approaching to condolence as to the misery of her 
lot, replied, " It's bad enough to be sure, yer honour ; but there's many have 




THE LEGEND-STONE. 



GLENGARIFF. 



G7 




CABIN OP STONES. 



worse places to lay their four bones in." As we drew near Glengarift, we had 
a foretaste of the rich treat we were about to enjoy ; for, long before we had 
again a glimpse of the bay, the scenery assumed a rich and luxuriant charac- 
ter, strongly con- .^v.„ /- Vi ___ ny« Qr.'\ r- ^~. 
trasting with the 
dreary solitude 
we were leaving. 
Language ut- 
terly fails to 
convey even a 
limited idea of 
the exceeding- 
beauty of Glen- 
gariff — " the 
rough glen" — 
which merits, to 
the full, the en- 
thusiastic praise 
that has been 

lavished upon it by every traveller by whom it has been visited. It is a deep 
alpine valley, enclosed by precipitous hills, about three miles in length, and seldom 
exceeding a quarter of a mile in breadth. Black and savage rocks embosom, as it 
were, a scene of surpassing loveliness — endowed by nature with the richest gifts 
of wood and water ; for the trees are graceful in form, luxuriant in foliage, and 
varied in character ; and the rippling stream, the strong river, and the foaming 
cataract, are supplied from a thousand rills collected in the mountains. Beyond all, 
is the magnificent bay, with its numerous islands, — by one of which it is so guarded 
and sheltered as to receive the aspect of a serene lake. The artist cannot do it 
justice ; and the pen must be laid aside in despair ! Our memories, indeed, recall 
every portion of the magic spot, — but only to convince us how weak and inefficient 
must be our efforts to describe it. We are again wandering through the glen — 
among majestic trees, fantastic rocks, and bubbling rivulets which every now and 
then rush by huge masses of stone, and, finding a declivity, roar along their rapid 
way, until, encountering some new obstruction, they creep awhile, and anon force 
a passage onwards, breaking into masses of foam — for there the mountain torrents 
creep or gallop to mingle with the broad Atlantic. The song of birds is either 
hushed or unheard ; and but for the ripple, or the roar of waters, there is no 
sound to disturb a solitude perfect and profound. We look up to the mountains ; 
they are of all forms, altitudes, and outlines. The most prominent among them 
is the Sugar -loaf, Slieve-na-goil, " the mountain of the wild people," with its conical 



68 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



head, soaring into the clouds \ and, to the rear, but at a considerable distance, 
Hungry Hill, with its naked and meagre sides, down which runs a stream from the 
lake upon its summit, until, gathering as it goes, it breaks in a tremendous cataract 
of eight hundred feet, expanding as it falls, and flinging a spray around it, that 
seems to cover with a thick mist a third part of the hill. 

" Now a blue wat'ry sheet ; anon dispersed, 
A hoary mist ; then gather'd in again, 
A darted stream along the hollow rock ; 
This way and that tormented, dashing thick 
From steep to steep, with wild refracted course 
And restless roaring, to the humble vale." 

We turn from the mountains, but a step, and gaze over the broad bay : the 
foreground is composed of islands of various shapes and sizes ; * and we stand in 
the midst of cultivation, as if nature had resolved upon mingling as much grandeur 
and beauty as the eye could take in at once. We turn again and look inland : 
enormous rocks are scattered in all directions, without order or arrangement, but 
picturesque from their very confusion ; seeming as if the giants of old had done 
battle here, and fought with huge masses they had wrenched from the adjacent 
mountains. 

But the most grand of the many grand views is from the height of the hill road 
that leads to Killarney. Before we ascend it, however, we must visit Lord Bantry's 
pretty cottage, for the sake of which he has deserted his more stately mansion at 
Bantry. It is sheltered like a wren's nest in its charming little island. We cross 
a foot-bridge, made, it is said, from the planks drifted on shore after the wreck of 
1796 in the Bay, and enter — for his lordship kindly arranges that strangers shall 
be invited to rest, and partake of refreshment, within. It is a sort of Hibernian 
Museum, containing many specimens of Irish Natural History, and one living one 
of much interest — a genuine Irish terrier. The breed has been here preserved 
with great care : it is very like " the pepper and mustard tykes " of Dandie 
Dinmont, and singularly reserved and snappish in its habits and manners ; but, 
we were told, the race is faithful and intelligent, t Crossing another little bridge, 
we are invited to ascend a soft and gentle-looking hill, and to our delight find it 
commands a scene fit to illustrate " the Happy Valley." Nothing can be more 

* Of these islands there is only one of size— Garinish Island ; and that is not, we believe, above 
five or six acres in extent. It is crowned by a Martello Tower. The other islands are, Brandy 
Island, Ship Island, Eough Island, Bark Island, &c. &c. 

f Faithful and intelligent also, no doubt, are the numerous descendants of this race that infest 
every road throughout the country ; but more utterly worthless curs (to all appearance) never 
existed. They spring out from every cabin, yelping and barking at every horse or car that 
passes, and seriously alarm the traveller, often to the endangering his life. 



GLENGARIFF. 69 



delicious, more varied, more enchanting, than the panoramic view that surrounds 
you on all sides ; mountain, rock, river, and ocean ! — trees of the most picturesque 
growth, and shrubby underwood, of such luxuriance that painters there may 
study nature under every shade and form. We could have lingered on that hill 
until night shut out the landscape, but we had much to do ; and, recrossing the 
fairy-like bridges, we proceeded to drive through the demesne. We do not know 
whether others may feel as we did the deep silence of Glengariff : we heard 
neither bleat of sheep nor song of bird. The weather, when we visited it last, was 
warm, — the very sea-breeze blew hot ; and the sun, reflected by the white and grey 
rocks, rendered the heat still more oppressive. When we complained of this, our 
guide smiled. " Ah ! then it's just proud the weather is to see ye ; and it's the 
other thing, the wet and the rain, and the storm, we do have to complain of, just 
changing from one bad luck to the other — as Molly Malone said when she 
married her third husband. It's seldom we've too much of the sunshine, glory be 
to God ! The birds are silent through the heat, — they're not used to it either ; nor 
the cattle, poor things ! — there isn't a bleat left in them hardy goats." This was 
certainly true, for every creature seemed oppressed by the unusual and continued 
sunshine. The drive through the demesne is oue of a peculiar kind ; for though 
art and cultivation have done a great deal, the wild, rugged, abrupt character 
of the glen is admirably retained. Patches of rich brown bog produce the most 
luxuriant vegetation — marsh weeds of every hue flourish — rocks of various sizes 
form the bases of now sloping, now abrupt hills; while above them are the 
mountains ; and above them again, canopied by the clear blue sky, the eagle floats 
calmly, now rising, now falling, and then soaring away, away, until he becomes 
to our pained and restricted vision a speck, an atom.* Sometimes the drive is 

* All tourists should visit the "Eagle's Nest :" the cliff where the lordly bird has for centuries 
made his dwelling rises five hundred feet above the valley. Csesar Otway relates a story con- 
nected with it — so beautifully, that we recommend it to all who love a well-told legend, merely 
offering a brief outline of what, entire, would here occupy too much space. 

At the time when the O'Sullivan had real right to the territory of which he was despoiled, he 
took refuge, with his wife, children, and a remnant of his people, in Glengariff. Here he main- 
tained a guerilla warfare against his foes, who were unfortunately almost as good guerillas as 
himself. At last, driven to the last extremity of despair and starvation, he resolved to join his 
friends in Ulster and Breffny, leaving his wife and children to the care of his follower and fosterer, 
Gorrane M'Swiney. All honour be to his inharmonious name ! Gorrane conveyed his precious 
charge to the foot of the Eagle's Cliff, and sheltered the Princess of Bere and Bantry beneath 
a hut so cunningly contrived as to seem but a rise in the furze, or a swell in the heather. It is 
true, he had neither sheep, nor cow, nor goat ; he had one salt salmon wrapped in a rough skin : 
but he had, like all his countrymen, a stout heart and an inventive brain ; and though the country 
was reeved and rent by cruel Saxons, Gorrane put his trust in the Saints, and kept a clear look- 
out, hoping something would turn up " for good." But still he suffered bitter trouble, because of 
his noble mistress, not knowing how he could procure her food ; and one morning, as he was 



70 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



arched over by trees; then you cross a bridge feathered with ferns and wild 
heaths, beneath whose arches a bright glittering river steals along, as if half 
asleep ; then you turn away from cultivation, and are by the borders of mimic 
morasses, with hoar mountains on the one side, and such peeps and glances 
of the bay on the other, that you are fairly bewildered ; then again you are 
plunged into thickets of stunted oak and birch, — and sunbeams creep through the 
branches, and freckle the long dark grass ; and after thanking Heaven for the cool 
green shade, you open upon a bit of fresh prairie, watered by countless little shy, 
sly brooks, crawling listlessly from their " home in the mountains ;" while above 
them float an absolute host of sparkling insects. One tribe of particular beauty 
we never saw so numerous — _ ^>„.^, ,o_-_ 

gigantic green dragon-flies. 
Certainly the day was one of 
pleasure and variety : it was 
Midsummer day, and the pre- 
vious evening we had watched 
for nearly two hours " the bone- 
fires," or, properly speaking, the 
Baal fires, kindling on the 
most prominent headlands, and 
brightly reflected in the glorious 
bay beneath. cromwell's bridge. 

But to enjoy the adjacent scenery to perfection, the Tourist should ascend the 
" Sugar Loaf" mountain. This will be hard labour — amply recompensed. 

The village of Glengariff consists of but a few houses. The only " antiquity " in 
the immediate neighbourhood is the old bridge, now a picturesque ruin, which, in 
ancient times, was on the high road to Berehaven ; it is called " Cromwell's Bridge." 

wondering what he should do, he observed one of the eagles sailing with a leveret in its talons 
to its eyrie, and then he heard the joyful screams of the young birds as they divided their prey. 
A sudden thought struck Gorrane, and, without communicating it to any one, he busied himself 
all day long in twisting a rope made from the fibres of the bog fir ; and, long before the dawn of 
the next day, accompanied by his son, he climbed the mountain, and, as twilight opened to the 
morning, saw the old eagles soar away to meet the sun. He then told his boy his project, which 
was, that he was to let him down by his woody rope to the eagle's nest — that he should tie 
a strap round their necks, not so tight as to injure them, but sufficiently tight to prevent their 
swallowing — that he would then draw him up, and await the eagles' return, who would leave, as 
usual, their prey in the nest, and then soar away to seek for more. During their absence, the 
boy was again to descend, loosen the eaglets' throats, and, leaving them the offal, ascend with 
the game, which the birds intended as a banquet for their own young. The youth managed as 
cleverly as his father desired — the eagles provided liberally for the sustenance of the lady and 
her children, until the English abandoned the glen ; when the Princess, aided by the faithful 
Gorrane, sought and found a more secure and fitting refuge. 




cromwell's bridge. 71 



History being silent as to the origin of the name, we must have recourse to 
tradition. When Oliver was passing through the glen to visit the O'Sullivans, he 
had so much trouble in getting across the narrow but rushing river, that he told 
the inhabitants if they did not build him a bridge by the time he returned, he 
would hang up a man for every hour's delay he met with. " So the bridge was 
ready agin he come back," quoth our informant; "for they knew the ould villian 
to be a man of his word." 

From every part of the glen some attractive object may be discovered ; but the 
best view, perhaps, is to be obtained from a small hill — small in comparison with 
its stupendous neighbours — in the immediate vicinity of a chapel west of the 
village : it places the spectator in the very centre of a glorious panorama, absolutely 
bewildering from its profusion of beauties. There will be a gush of enjoyment from 
the heart the instant this hillock is ascended. But, as we have intimated, it is from 
the road to Kenmare that the surpassing loveliness of the valley, and the full glory 
of the bay, will be seen to perfection. For three or four miles the traveller winds 
round the side of a mountain — a steep and weary road, so barren of interest that 
he has ample leisure to ponder over, and fix in his mind, the marvels he has seen. 
Suddenly he arrives on the brow of the hill. He is over the glen, many hundred 
feet above the ocean, which he beholds stretching out into space, while the islands 
appear as dots upon it ; the river that runs through the valley has dwindled to 
a white thread ; the trees have gathered into masses ; and the hill upon which 
he stood, so lately, seems no bigger than a fairy mound. Midway down are 
scattered cottages, the pale smoke from which alone distinguishes them from 
mole-heaps. Thin and narrow streams, like snow-wreaths, are running from the 
mountains ; and every now and then his eye falls upon the lakes that send them 
forth to fertilise the valley. The whole scene is within his ken — its sublime 
beauty and its transcendent grandeur — ocean, mountain, glen, and river. He 
is in the midst of solitude ; the clouds are on a level with him ; at times they hide 
for a moment every object from his sight. There is no song of bird to break the 
perfect loneliness ; but if he look upward he will see the eagle winging his way 
homewards in solitary grandeur. We were startled by the scream of one of them 
flying over our heads, so near to us that we could almost count the feathers in his 
wing. Our feeling was that we had seen enough of the sublime and beautiful in 
Nature, and need go no farther in search of either. 

On the summit of the mountain an incident occurred to us, which we may not 
omit to notice in this record of our journey. 

We had been gazing so earnestly upon the scene below and around us, that we 
had not noted the sudden appearance of a lad upon a bank, a little to the left of 
the place on which we stood ; but our attention was attracted by his clapping his 
hands together, and laughing, or rather shouting loudly, in evident delight at the 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



scene. There was nothing in his appearance different from that of many young 
goatherds we had passed, and who hardly raised their heads from the purple heath 
to gaze at our progress. His sunburnt limbs were bare below the knees ; but his 
long brown hair had been cared for, and flowed beneath a wide-leafed hat, that was 
garnished not imtastefully by a couple of wreaths of spreading fern. His gar- 
ments were in sufficient disorder to satisfy the most enthusiastic admirer of " the 
picturesque ;" and although we called to him repeatedly, it was not until a sudden 
diffusion of cloud had interfered between him and the sunset, so as to diminish the 
light, and of course lessen the effect of the shadows, that he noticed us in the least ; 
indeed, it was evident he would not have done so at all, but for the unexpected 
appearance of another " child of the mist," in the person of a little bright-eyed 
girl — literally one mass of tatters — who sprang to where the boy stood, and, 
seizing his hand, pointed silently to us. He descended immediately, followed by 
the girl, and after removing his hat stood by the side of our carriage, into which he 
peered with genuine Irish curiosity. 

To our question of "Where do you live?" the mountain maid replied, " Nein 
English." We then addressed ourselves to the boy, when the girl placed her 
hands on her lips, then to her ears, and finally shook her head. " Deaf and 
dumb ?" I asked. Upon which she replied, " Ay, ay, deaf, dumb — deaf, duinb." 
The little creature having so said, regarded him with one of those quick looks so 
eloquent of childish love ; and, seizing his hand, raised her rosy face to be kissed. 
He patted her head impatiently, but was too closely occupied examining the 
contents of our carnage to heed her affectionate request. His eye glanced over 
our packages without much interest, until they rested on a small black portfolio j 
and then he leaped, and clapped his hands, making us understand he wanted to 
inspect it. His little companion had evidently some idea that this was an intrusion, 
and intimated so to the boy ; but he pushed her from him, determined to have his 
own way. Nothing could exceed his delight when turning over a few sketches 
and some engravings. He gave us clearly to understand that he comprehended 
their intent — looking from our puny outlines to the magnificent mountains by 
which we were surrounded, and smiling thereat in a way that our self-love could 
not construe into a compliment. 

While he was thus occupied, his little companion, struck by some sudden 
thought, bounded up the almost perpendicular mountain with the grace and agility 
of a true-bom Kerry maiden, until she disappeared; but she soon returned, 
springing from rock to rock, and holding the remnants of her tattered apron 
together with evident care. When she descended she displayed its contents, 
which interested us greatly ; for they were her brother's sketches, five or six in 
number, made on the torn-out leaves of an old copy-book in pale ink, or with a 
still paler pencil. Two were tinged with colour extracted from plants that grew 



THE DUMB BOY. 73 



upon the mountain ; and, though rude, they bore evidence of talent. The lad 
could have had no instruction ; the copy-book was the property of his eldest 
brother, and he had abducted the leaves to record upon them his silent observa- 
tions of the magnificence of Nature, whose power had elevated and instructed his 
mind. We should not have read even this line of his simple history, but for the 
opportune passing of another " Kerry dragoon " — a wild, brigand-looking young 
fellow, mounted between his market-panniers on his rough pony — who proved to 
be the lad's brother, although he did not at first tell us so. 

" We all," he said, " live high up in de mountain ; but I can't trust him to 
look after de goats by himself. His whole delight is puttin' down upon a bit of 
paper or a slate whatever he sees. I'd ha' broke him off it long agone ; but he 
was his mother's darlin', and she's wid de blessed Vargin these seven years, so I 
don't like to cross his fancy; besides, de Lord's hand has been heavy on him 
already, and it does no harm, no more than himself, except when any of de childre 
brake what he do be doing ; den he goes mad intirely, and strays I dunna where ; 
though, to be sure, de Almighty has his eye over him, for he's sure to come back 
well and quiet." 

The lad at last closed our portfolio with a heavy sigh, and did not perceive 
until he had done so, that his little sister had spread out his own productions on 
the heather, which grew so abundantly by the road-side. He pointed to them 
with something of the exultation of spirit so natural to us all when we think 
our exertions are about to be appreciated ; and he bent over them as a mother 
would over a cherished child. His triumph, however, was but momentary — 
it was evident that his having seen better things rendered him dissatisfied with 
his own, for while gathering them hastily together, he burst into tears. We gave 
him some pencils and paper, and a few engravings; and as the evening was 
approaching, bade him a hasty farewell ; as he stood, his little sister clinging to 
his side, waving his hat on a promontory, while we were descending into the 
valley. 

We are describing the high-road to Killarney ; but, if time permits, there is a 
vast deal of the sublime and beautiful in Nature to be examined before it is 
resumed. Our plan will not allow us to do more than glance at the temptations 
which induce a visit to the adjacent wild sea-coast. 

West of Glengariff is the promontory of Berehaven, separating Bantry Bay 
from the Keninare River. It is a wild and primitive district; abounding in 
picturesque and romantic scenery ; full of legends ; with historical associations of 
great interest ; and possessing the ruins of many castles of the O'Sullivans — for 
centuries the lords of the soil, although their descendants are now but hewers of 
stone and drawers of water. The accompanying print represents the harbour of 
Berehaven, and the ruin of the ancient castle of Dunboy. 

F 



74 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY, 



We have described the view of Glengariff and Bantry Bay from the summit of 
the hill-road that leads to Killarney. There is another view, however, scarcely less 
grand. Upon this height is the division between the counties of Cork and Kerry. 




BEREHAVBN. 



The entrance to the county of Kerry (" the kingdom of Kerry," as it was an- 
ciently called), from that of Cork, is through a tunnel of about two hundred yards 
in length ; a very short distance from which there are two others of much more 
limited extent. They have been cut through rocks — peaks to the Esk mountain.* 
As the traveller emerges from comparative darkness, a scene of striking magnifi- 
cence bursts upon him — very opposite in character from that which he leaves im- 
mediately behind ; for while his eye retains the rich and cultivated beauty of the 
wooded and watered " glen," he is startled by the contrast of barren and frightful 
precipices, along the brinks of which he is riding, and gazes with a shudder down 



* Until these tunnels were cut and the road made, travellers to Killarney were compelled to 
order carriages from Kenmare to meet them at the Kerry side of the mountain ; or, as was 
usually done, hire five or six stout peasants from Glengariff to carry the car on their shoulders 
over rocks and along precipices, exceedingly dangerous from the want of a protecting wall, and 
in consequence of the numerous ruts in the way. The misery of travellers so circumstanced was 
whimsically hut pathetically described to us by several who had endured the fatigue and peril of 
the journey. 



BEREHAVEN. "KINGDOM OF KERRY." 



75 



into the far-off valley, where a broad and angry stream is diminished by distance 
into a mere line of white. Nothing can exceed the wild grandeur of the prospect ; 
it extends miles upon miles : scattered through the vale and among the hill slopes 
are many cottages, white always, and generally slated ; while to several of them 
are attached the picturesque limekilns so numerous in all parts of the country. 
The road, of which there is a view almost the whole way to the Kenmare River, 
is a gradual descent, and has been so admirably constructed, and is kept so care- 
fully in repair, that it is smooth and finished enough to be the entry to a demesne, 
and is classed by universal consent among the best roads of the kingdom. The 
whole district, we believe, belongs to the Marquis of Lansdowne ; and a better 
ordered estate, or a more flourishing tenantry, are not to be found in any mountain 
district of Ireland. Such was not always the case ; at one period it was proverbial 
for the poverty of the land and the wretchedness of its inhabitants. The misery 
of the soil has been illustrated by a saying that " a Kerry cow never looks up at 
a passing stranger, for fear it would lose the bite : " and it was asserted that, at 
stated seasons, his lordship's agents stationed themselves at the old entrance into 
the county, to meet the beggars as they were returning homewards from Cork to 
Kerry, and received the rents of their cabins by taking from them the hah -pence 
they had collected. We had heard of its old character, but not of the change 
that had taken place in the district ; and were gratified to meet every where proofs 
of the desire of the landlord to promote ^-^.==^ 

the welfare of the tenant by encouraging 
his industry, and securing to him a certain 
and enduring reward for his capital, of 
labour, expended upon the soil. Of the 
town of Kenmare little can be said. Its 
natural advantages are equal to those of 
any town of the kingdom : the river being 
navigable from the Atlantic to the Quays, 
and a suspension bridge having been 
erected over it by the joint subscriptions 
of .the Lord Lansdowne and the Board of 
Works, at an expense of 5,000£. This bridge 
is a beautiful object ; and has been of im- 
mense value in facilitating intercourse and 
traffic with the adjoining districts. 

The road from Kenmare to Killarney, 
for the first five miles, possesses little to 
interest : it is nearly due north ; but before entering on this road a deviation to the 
west will conduct the traveller to many objects of considerable beauty. A mile or 




BLACK. WATER BRIDGE. 



f2 



76 A WEEK AT KILLAKNEY. 



two from the town are the ancient ruins of Dunkerron Castle, once the hospitable 
scat of the O'Sullivan Mor ; and Cappanacuss, another shattered castle of the same 
family. Farther on, the river Blackwater flows into the bay. The adjacent country 
is highly picturesque ; the river rushes through a deep ravine, the steep sides of 
which are thickly wooded. Its source is a small dark lake among the Dunkerron 
mountains ; and near its mouth it is crossed by a bridge of two lofty arches 
passing over a chasm of great depth. 

The new road to Killarney is one of the best roads of the kingdom, and 
the surveyor (Mr. Nimmo) who laid it down should receive a passing benediction 
from the lips of every traveller. 

The old road, which lay between Mangerton and Tore, is now completely 
deserted. The new road runs for a mile or two by the side of a brawling river ; 
but the bleak mountains are before us, and we are soon made aware that we 
are nearing the " Reeks " and the glories — mountains, rivers, lakes, and foliage — 
of Killarney. We must not however anticipate ; for we are approaching the spot 
from whence these glories are to be overlooked ; and to which we shall conduct 
the Tourist on his first day's excursion. 



CASTLE OF LIMERICK. 



77 



LIMERICK AND THE SHANNON. 




IMERICK, (the route to which from Dublin by railway we 
have described,) is distinguished in history as " the city of 
the violated treaty;" and the Shannon, on which it stands, 
has been aptly termed " the King of Island Rivers." Few 
of the Irish counties possess so many attractions as that 
of Limerick for the antiquarian and the lover of the pic- 
turesque ; and, with one exception, no city of Ireland has 
contributed so largely to maintain the honour and glory 
of the country. The brave defenders of Limerick and 
Londonderry have received — the former from the Pro- 
testant, and the latter from the Catholic historian — the praise that party spirit 
cannot weaken ; the heroic gallantry, the indomitable perseverance, and the 
patient and resolute endurance under suffering of both, having deprived political 
partisans of their asperity — compelling them, for once at least, to render justice to 
their opponents ; all having readily subscribed to the opinion that " Derry and 
Limerick will ever grace the historic page, as rival companions and monuments of 
Irish bravery, generosity, and integrity." 

The charter of Limerick is as ^ : , 

old as Richard the First; and 
King John, according to Stani- 
hurst, " was so pleased with the 
agreeableness of the city that he 
caused a very fine castle and 
bridge to be built there." The 
castle has endured for above six 
centuries; in all the "battles, 
sieges, fortunes," that have since 
occurred, it has been the object 
most coveted perhaps in Ireland 
by the contending parties ; and 
it still frowns, a dark mass, upon 
the waters of the mighty Shan- 
non. Recently, improvements 
that have taken place in the 
city have opened it to view ; GASTJJS 0F L1MERICK - 

and an idea of its strength and magnitude may be obtained from the accompanying 
print. 




A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



The city is, indeed, very famous in history. Before it, in 1651, Ireton "sate 
down ;" there he continued to " sit" for six months ; and underneath its walls the 
fierce republican died of plague. Greater celebrity, and higher honour, were, 
however, obtained by Limerick in 1690. Early in August, William summoned it 
to surrender : the French general, Boileau, who commanded the garrison — " rather 
for the king of France than the king of England " — returned for answer, that " he 
was surprised at the summons, and thought the best way to gain the good opinion 
of the Prince of Orange was to defend the place for his master King James." The 
siege was at once commenced. The city was amply supplied with troops and 
provisions ; its natural strength had been considerably augmented ; it was fortified 
by walls, batteries, and ramparts, and defended by a castle and citadel. It con- 
sisted of the English town and the Irish town : the former being on an island, built 
upon a rock, and, surrounded on all sides by morasses that could at any time be 
flooded, was considered almost impregnable ; and although the Irish town was less 
defensible, if it were captured the English town might still be maintained. The 
flower of the Irish army were within its walls, or in its immediate neighbourhood ; 
the counties of Clare and Galway were open to them, from which to draw supplies ; 
and a French fleet rode triumphantly in the Shannon. The garrison, however, was 
little disposed to act in concert : the jealousy of the commanders of the French 
and Irish had spread to their troops ; and they cherished feelings of contempt or 
hatred towards each other, that augured ill for their success in opposing the steady 
and disciplined forces of William. 

Yet the Irish succeeded - the siege was raised on the 30th of August. But in 
the autumn of 1691, it endured a second, which occupied about six months ; when 
the garrison wearied of a struggle from which they could derive nothing but 
glory ; on the 23d of September, 
a cessation of hostilities took place ; 
an amicable intercourse was opened 
between the two armies ; and articles 
of capitulation were, after a few brief 
delays, agreed upon. The treaty was 
signed on the 3d of October, 1691 ; 
it consisted of two parts, civil and 
military. It is said to have been 
signed by the several contracting 
parties on a large stone, near to 
Thomond Bridge, on the county of 
Clare side of the river. The stone 
remains in the position it occupied at 
the period, and is an object of curiosity to strangers, as well as of interest to the 







THE TREATY STONE. 



LIMERICK. 



79 



citizens of Limerick. We therefore thought it desirable to procure a drawing of 
the relic, which retains its name of " the Treaty Stone." Although the statement 
depends entirely on tradition, it is not unlikely to be true. A statue of Sarsfield, 
the general who commanded the Irish, is, we understand, about to be placed upon 
it by the corporation of Limerick. 

The city of Limerick, situated in an extensive plain watered by the mighty 
Shannon, about sixty Irish miles from the sea,* is divided, like all the towns of 
note in Ireland, into English town and Irish town ; but a third division, called 
Newtown Pery, was added to it during the last century — the work being com- 
menced in 1769, by the Right Hon. Edmond Sexton Pery. The English town 
stands on " the King's Island," an island formed by the Shannon, which divides, 
about half a mile above the city, into two streams ; the narrowest of which is 
named the Abbey River. There is also an extensive and populous suburb on the 
opposite side of the river, 

I 



in the county of Clare. 
The more modern parts 
are remarkably handsome, 
the streets being wide and 
the houses evenly built : 
the ancient portions, on 
the contrary, are narrow 
and confined, and dirty to 
a proverb. Limerick may 
be classed among the best 
cities of Ireland ; and 
it is rapidly improving. 
Within the last few years, 
squares and crescents have 
been largely added to it, 
and several public build- 
ings have been erected on 

, , t x i ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 

a plan at once elegant and 

convenient. When Dr. Campbell wrote his "Survey," in 1577, the number of its 

streets was twenty-seven, and of its houses 3,859 : in 1787, the houses, according 




* Ferrar states that the city derived its ancient name, " Lumneach," from the fact that " the 
island on which it is built, so pleasing in its situation, and so well calculated to prevent surprise 
by the river Shannon surrounding it, was fixed on for the rendezvous of a gang of outlaws, who 
subsisted by plundering the neighbouring counties. Here they brought their horses and other 
booty, from whence it acquired the name of Lumneach, or a spot made bare by feeding horses." 



80 A WEEK AT KILLxVKNEY. 



to the calculation of Mr. Ferrar, numbered 4,300 ; in 1827, according to M'Gregor, 
there were seventy streets, besides numerous lanes; and by the census of 1821, 
the houses were enumerated at 8,268. The population was then 59,045 ; and in 
1831, it had increased to 66,554:; including, however, that of the "rural district." 
The most remarkable of the ancient structures of Limerick, with the exception of 
"King John's Castle," is the Cathedral — dedicated to "St. Mary;" a large and 
heavy-looking structure, built on the site of the palace of O'Brien, king of 
Limerick. Its tower is remarkably high ; and from the summit there is a mag- 
nificent prospect of the various objects of attraction in the immediate neighbour- 
hood : — it is, indeed, the only place from which a view can be obtained, for there 
are no adjacent hills — a circumstance to which the city is considerably indebted for 
its natural strength. 

The city has been long unrivalled in Ireland for some peculiar advantages ; the 
world is familiar with the fame of Limerick lasses, Limerick gloves, Limerick 
hooks, and Limerick lace — the latter, however, is a distinction of more recent 
growth. The women of all ranks throughout the county are remarkably beautiful 
in form and feature. The gloves retained their celebrity for above a century, and 
are still made in the family — the Bourkes — by whom the manufacture was in a 
measure introduced. The hooks have long been, and still are, celebrated; the 
saying that " every hook is worth a salmon," continuing in some degree to hold good.* 
Of the Limerick lace, we have more to say. The lace manufacture, now so exten- 
sively carried on, and brought to so high a state of perfection as not only to rival 
but surpass that of any district in England, was introduced into Limerick in 1 829, 
by Mr. Walker, an Englishman. The experiment was commenced upon a very 
limited scale ; twenty-two lace- workers having been brought from Nottingham, the 
cradle of the English lace trade, to teach the art, and endeavour to establish it 
in the neighbourhood. The attempt was eminently successful; year after year 
it continued to prosper, until it has attained a high degree of vigour — producing 
immensely beneficial results, and promising to increase largely in value and 
importance. 

The great attraction of Limerick — although by no means the only one — is how- 

* It is, however, very difficult to obtain " real genuine " Limerick hooks even in Limerick ; 
and even when they are to be procured, they are not always to be depended on. The best hooks 
now made in Ireland are the manufacture of Mr. John Phillips, 18, Ellis's Quay, Dublin. They 
had been recommended to us by several experienced anglers ; and we paid a visit to his house. 
We found him a man of science as well as skill, who had given close study for many years to 
improvements in his art ; and the specimens he submitted to us fully bore out the strong opinions 
we had received as to the merits of his work. He makes not only hooks for the salmon and 
trout fisher, but for bait-fishing ; and for the comfort of Thames anglers especially, he has consider- 
ably improved upon the Kirby-bend. " Brethren of the angle " will, we feel assured, thank us 
for advising them to communicate their wants and wishes to this veteran of the craft. 



RIVER SHANNON. CASTLE CONNELL. 81 



ever, its majestic and beautiful river ; " the king of Island rivers," — the " princi- 
palest of all in Ireland," writes the quaint old naturalist, Dr. Gerrard Boate. It 
takes its rise among the mountains of Leitrim, and, running for a few miles as an 
inconsiderable stream, diffuses itself into a spacious lake, called Lough Allen. 
Issuing thence it pursues its course for several miles, and forms another small lake, 
Lough Eike ; again spreads itself out into Lough Ree, — a lake fifteen miles in 
length and four in breadth ; and thence proceeds as a broad and rapid river, 
passing by Athlone; then narrowing again until it reaches Shannon Harbour; 
then widening into far-famed Lough Derg, eighteen miles long and four broad ; 
then progressing until it arrives at Killaloe, where it ceases to be navigable until it 
waters Limerick city • from whence it flows in a broad and majestic volume to the 
ocean for about sixty miles : running a distance of upwards of 200 miles from its 
source to its mouth — between Loop Head and Kerry Head (the space between them 
being about eight miles), watering ten counties in its progress, and affording 
facilities for commerce and internal intercourse such as are unparalleled in any 
other portion of the united kingdom. Yet, unhappily, up to the present time, its 
natural advantages have been altogether neglected ; its munificent wealth having 
been suffered to lie as utterly waste as if its blessings were offered only to an un- 
peopled desert. 

To render the Shannon a navigable river has long been a cherished object ; but 
the difficulties appeared insurmountable. So far back as 1638, the subject excited 
the earnest attention of the unfortunate Earl of Strafford, then viceroy of Ireland ; 
and a letter has been preserved addressed by him, and signed by the Privy Coun- 
cil, to the Earl of Thomond and others, stating that " heere is one that offers to 
make the river Shannon navigable from Lymericke to above the foord of Killalow, 
and hee demands for his payment and charges therein 3,00 0£." Until very lately, 
however, no effort was made to improve it ; and so recently as 1832, Mr. Rhode, 
(civil engineer, member of a commission appointed in 1831) reports that the grand 
designs of nature have been in a great measure frustrated ; and the river (an odd 
simile, by the way) may not unaptly be compared to a sealed book." It would be 
foreign to our purpose to enter upon the subject of the Government plans now in 
progress for removing the obstacles that have hitherto rendered the broadest, the 
longest, and the most beautiful of British rivers comparatively valueless ; there 
can be no doubt that, if successful, they will amply repay the enormous sums 
expending upon them, by " effectually advancing the commerce, manufactures, 
agriculture, and population of Ireland, and the consequent strength of the empire 
at large." * 

* " On the whole face of the globe, probably no river exists of so large a size in proportion to 
that of the island through which it flows, as the river Shannon ; and were all the advantages 
which it is capable of affording turned to the best account by the industry and intelligence of the 



82 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



" The spacious Sheuan spreading like a sea/' thus answers to the description of 
Spenser. For a long space its course is so gentle that ancient writers supposed its 
name to have been derived from. " Seen-awn," the slow river ; and for many miles, 
between O'Brien's Bridge and Limerick, it rolls so rapidly along as almost to be 
characterised as a series of cataracts. At the Falls of Killaloe it descends twenty- 
one feet in a mile, and above 100 feet from Killaloe to Limerick; yet there is 
scarcely a single mill at work all that way. Its banks too are, nearly all along its 
course, of surpassing beauty. As it nears Limerick, the adjacent hills are crowned 
with villas ; and upon its sides are the ruins of many ancient castles. Castle 
Connell, a village about six miles from the city, is perhaps unrivalled in the king- 
dom for natural graces ; and immediately below it are the Falls of Doonas, where 
the river rushes over huge mountain-rocks, affording a passage which the more 
daring only will make, for the current — narrowed to a boat's breadth — rushes 
along with such frightful rapidity, that the deviation of a few inches would be 
inevitable destruction.* This, although the most remarkable of the falls, is 

inhabitants, aided by capital, its influence upon the internal communication and commerce of the 
country could not fail of being very extensive. In its natural state, however, the Shannon has 
conferred fewer benefits upon the country it waters than streams of far inferior magnitude, which 
were more even and regular in their course, and at the same time easier of access along then- 
banks. This will be more readily understood, when it is explained that in the distance between 
Lough Allen and Limerick, amounting to about 120 Irish miles, no less than seventeen different 
falls or rapids intervene, amounting in all to at least 146 feet 11 inches in height ; each of them 
operating as a positive impediment to navigation." This was written by Mr. Weld in 1832 ; since, 
as our readers are aware, Government has undertaken the Herculean labour- of rendering the 
Shannon navigable. The work is still carrying on, — with what advantage we are unable to deter- 
mine. It is the latest of many plans to achieve this most desirable purpose, and the only one 
that appears likely to be attended with even partial success. The source of the Shannon is in a 
gulf or hole, near the base of the Culkagh mountains, about six miles north-east of Lough Allen, 
in the county of Leitrim. 

* We cannot easily forget our sensations of mingled alarm and enjoyment, while rushing along 
this course — at night, but by the light of a brilliant moon ; it was exciting to the highest degree. 
We had confidence in our helmsman (if so we must term the man with the paddle-rudder he held 
in his hand) ; yet every now and then the voyage was a startling one, and the danger quite suf- 
ficient to shake stronger nerves than ours. He had nothing to do but to keep a keen eye upon 
the rocks at either side, and guide his " cot " by pushing aside a wave with a strong arm, so as to 




keep in the centre of the current ; and he did so with wonderful accuracy. We were afterwards 
convinced that there was in reality no more peril than there would have been upon the Thames ; 






ENVIRONS OF LIMERICK. 83 



succeeded by several others, between Castle Connell and Limerick — the whole 
scene, however discouraging to the political economist, as presenting a picture of 
wasted strength, being delicious in the highest degree to the lover of natural 
beauty. 

The immediate environs of Limerick are not picturesque ; the city lies, as we 
have said, in a spacious plain, the greater portion of which is scarcely above the 
level of the water : at short distances, however, there are some of the most inter- 
esting ruins in the kingdom, in the midst of scenery of surpassing loveliness. Of 
these, the tourist should first visit Carrig-o-gunnel, next Adare, and then Castle 
Connell, the most beautiful of many beautiful places upon the banks of the noble 
Shannon. Some of them, however, as we shall presently show, may be taken en 
route to Killarney. 

for the boatmen are so skilful and so well practised, that they govern their boats with absolute 
certainty. The boats are flat-bottomed (for often the stream is not above a few inches deep), 
narrowed, and squared at the stem and stern. The paddle is a piece of fiat wood, about three 
feet long, increasing from the handle to the breadth of about ten inches ; only one is used, which 
the man changes from side to side according to the direction in which he desires to proceed— 
using it alternately to advance the boat, and as a helm to steer its course. We refer more 
especially to the boats used by the fishermen, in which the oars are seldom resorted to ; for they 
are pushed up the stream by a long pole, and the current takes them down it without an effort. 



84 



A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



BY RATHKEALE AND CASTLE-ISLAND. 




IKST, we conduct the reader to Killamey, by the 
coach route, through Adare, Rathkeale, New- 
castle, Abbeyfeale, and Castle-Island — a distance of 
sixty-seven miles. Within a mile or two of Limerick, 
attention will be directed to the venerable ruin of Mungret 
Priory — said to have been founded by St. Patrick, and 
bearing evidence of high antiquity. A few broken walls only 
remain ; insufficient to bear out the testimony of " Corrnack 
Mac Cuillenan „ , ■---, - - 



\y in the Psalter of Ca- 
shel," that it formerly 
gave sheltei to "one 
thousand five hundred 
monks," five hundred of 
whom were devoted to 
preaching and instruction ; five 
hundred more being so classed 
and divided, as to have a per- 
petual full choir day and night ; 
the remainder being old men, 
who devoted themselves to reli- 
gious and charitable works.* 

Adare, the first stage from 
Limerick, is a neat and appa- 
rently flourishing town ; imme- 
diately adjoining which are the 
remains of several monastic 




MUNGBKT PKIOKY. 



* A whimsical legend in connexion with the Priory is still current among the peasantry ; 
a saying " As wise as the women of Mungret " being common to this day. It arose, as it is said, 
from the following circumstance : — The fame of the learned and musical monks having widely 
spread, a deputation was sent from the famous college at Cashel, in order to ascertain which of 
the two monasteries might claim the honour of being most perfect in the dead languages. The 
monks of Mungret became alarmed, lest they might be beaten in the contest, and so their 
reputation be ruined. They therefore hit upon an expedient to escape the danger of defeat ; and 
having dressed up some of the junior students as women/and others as peasants, placed them at 
convenient distances along the road, by which their rivals of Cashel must necessarily travel. 



ADARE. 



edifices, the greater number of them being within the walls of the Earl of 
Dunraven's beautiful park. One of the old abbeys has been converted into a church, 
and another into a chapel ; and both retain traces of their original grandeur, 
although modern " improvements " have essentially changed their character. The 
erections of these abbeys, churches, and a castle of the Desmonds, which " much 
incommoded the English " during the Elizabethan wars, are not of very remote 
dates. A house was founded here, for friars of the order of the Holy Trinity, for 
the redemption of Christian captives, in the reign of King Edward the First, by 
John Earl of Kildare. The Augustinian Friary, called also the Black Abbey, was 
founded in 1315, and King Edward the Second confirmed the grants made to it 
a,d. 1317. The house of Grey Friars was founded in 1465, by Thomas Earl of 
Kildare, and Joan his wife — and they were both buried in the choir. The ruins 
of these, and others, have been recently put into complete repair at the charge of 
Lord Dunraven ; and, at the time of our visit, the new additions of mason-work 
were so apparent as considerably to impair the "beauty of age;" but, within a 
comparatively short period, the ivy will grow over them, and they will have been 
secured from further dilapidations of Time for ages yet to come. 

In the immediate vicinity of Adare — but also in other parts of the country — a 
singular and peculiar race of strangers settled, a century and a half ago, and still 
keep themselves, to a considerable extent, apart and separate from the people. 
They are known as "the Palatines."* Early in the last century, Lord Southwell 



As the deputation advanced, they naturally inquired the way to Mungret, and put to the persons 
they met other questions — each of which was immediately answered either in Greek or Latin. 
The worthies, consequently, held a conference; and disliking, also, to encounter the risk of 
being worsted at their own weapons, they very wisely resolved to retrace their steps, and avoid 
a battle in which they would of course be overcome — inasmuch as so impregnated was the whole 
neighbourhood with learning, that even the women and workmen thereof could speak fluently 
the languages they came to make the subject of battle. 

* About sixty years ago, Ferrar, the historian of Limerick, thus wrote of the Palatines :— 
" They preserve their language, but it is declining ; they sleep between two beds ; they appoint 
a burgomaster, to whom they appeal in all disputes. They are industrious men, and have 
leases from the proprietors of the land at reasonable rents ; they are consequently better fed and 
clothed than the generality of Irish peasants. Besides, their modes of husbandry and crops are 
better than those of their neighbours. They have by degrees left off their sour-crout, and feed 
on potatoes, milk, butter, oaten and wheaten bread, some meat and fowls, of which they rear 
many. They keep their cows housed in winter, feeding them with hay and oaten straw ; their 
houses are remarkably clean, to which they have stables, cow-houses, a lodge for their plough, 
and neat kitchen-gardens : the women are very industrious, and perform many things which the 
Irish women could never be prevailed on to do ; besides their domestic employments and the 
care of their children, they reap the corn, plough the ground, and assist the men in every thing. 
In short, the Palatines have benefited the country by increasing tillage, and are a laborious, 
independent people, who are mostly employed on their own small farms." 



8Q A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



introduced into Ireland a number of German Protestants ; placing them originally 
at Court-Matress. 

Even now they are very different in character, and distinct in habits, from the 
people of the country. We visited several of their cottages, or, as they are better 
pleased to call them, " houses," in the neighbourhood of Adare ; and the neatness, 
good order, and quantity and quality of the furniture — useful and ornamental — 
too surely indicated that we were not in a merely Irish cabin. Huge flitches of 
bacon hung from the rafters; the chairs were in several instances composed of 
walnut-tree and oak; massive and heavy, although rudely carved chests, contained, 
as we are told, the house linen and woollen, and the wardrobes of the inhabitants. 
The elders of the family preserve, in a great degree, the language, customs, and 
religion of their old country ; but the younger mingle and marry with their Irish 
neighbours. The men are tall, fine, stout fellows, as our Irish friend said, " to 
follow;" but there is a calm and stern severity and reserve in their aspect that 
is any thing but cheering to a traveller to meet, particularly after being accus- 
tomed to the brilliant smiles, and hearty " God save ye kindly," so perpetually on 
the peasant's lips, and always in his eyes. This characteristic is also remarkable 
in the cottages. The women are sombre-looking, and their large blue eyes are 
neither bright nor expressive : they are slow to bid you welcome ; and if they rise 
from their seats, resume them quickly, and hardly suspend their occupations to talk 
with you ; not that they are uncourteous — they are simply cold, reserved, and of 
that high-toned manner which is at ease with, or careless of, the presence of 
strangers. In their dealings they are considered upright and honourable : like 
the Quakers of old, they do not interfere with either politics or religion ; are 
cautious as to land-taking ; and in the troublous times, when the generality of 
persons were afraid to walk forth, the quiet Palatine pursued his avocations without 
let or hindrance, being rarely, if ever, molested. Many of the old Palatines used 
to have their Bibles buried with them; and this accounts for our being unable 
to find any other than English Bibles in their houses. We failed, indeed, to 
discover any books in their own language ; but one of the elders told us, they 
had given many of them to the soldiers of the German Legion as keepsakes, while 
that body was quartered in the neighbourhood. They are at present, both as regards 
their customs and traditions, only a relic of the past ; and yet one so strongly 
marked, and so peculiar, that it will take a long time before all trace of the 
" Father-land " is obliterated. Their superstitions, also, savour strongly of the 
banks of the Bhine ; but they are careful in communicating them, which may 
proceed from their habitual reserve. They retain the names of their ancestors, such 
as " Fritz," " Meta," u Ella," " Buth," " Ebenezer," which are common among them, 
and sound strangely when mingled with the more aboriginal Dinnys and Nellys. 

About three miles to the south-east of Adare is the old town of Croom. The 



CROOM. RATHKEALE. 



87 



very name of Groom is redolent of its heathen origin as a temple of the ruler of 
the Irish gods, the formidable Croom, or Tarran, the Thunderer. In its immediate 
neighbourhood, and in the centre of an extensive valley stretching out from 
the eastern base 
of Knockfeerena 
— famous for its 
fairy marvels — 
stand the re- 
mains of a small 
but very ancient 
church, whose 
era belongs to 
the very earliest 
period of Chris- 
tianity in Ire- 
land. It is a 
plain oblong, 
about forty-six 
feet in length and 
eighteen broad. 
The walls are 
rather of a Cy- 

clopian construction, and are well coated with ivy. It was lit by two small 
windows, the arching of which, as well as that of the door, has been destroyed. 
The frame-work of the door and windows, as is usual in these very ancient 
structures, is of sandstone. Ten feet north of the church stands one of those round 
towers so peculiar to Ireland, and so fruitful of controversy to her antiquaries. It 
is fifty feet in height, and fifty feet in circumference at its base. 

Rathkeale is next reached; it is a town of considerable size. Abbeyfeale, so 
named from a venerable ruin that stands on the banks of the Feale, is the next 
stage ; next is Castle-Island, the first stage from Killarney ; and from this town, 
a poor and half-ruinous place, — a distance of fifteen miles and a half, — the road 
possesses little to interest until we near the mountains that overlook the Lakes. 

As this route is much less interesting than that by Tarbert, and far less attrac- 
tive than that by Kilmallock, we have devoted to it but a brief space, in order that 
more may be allotted to the two routes to which we make reference. 

The road by Eathkeale and Castle-Island is, however — be it remembered — the 
only road by which public conveyances proceed from Limerick to Killarney. 




ROUND TOWER AT CROOM. 



88 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



BY THE SHANNON, THROUGH TARBERT AND TRALEE. 



E recommend this route to Killarney. It will 

introduce the tourist to very magnificent scenery 

while voyaging down the most noble of island rivers 

— " the spacious Shannon." The voyage, as we have 

elsewhere observed, is made by steam. The boats ply thrice 

a week ; and the voyager may either land directly at Tarbert, 

or, visiting the opposite coast of Clare, pass a few hours at 

Kilrush, take in his way the legend-stored island of Scattery, 

and then, crossing to Tarbert, resume the road to Killarney. 

The voyage is indeed full of attractions ; and these attractions — of 

beautiful and magnificent scenery, ruined abbeys, and dilapidated castles 

— commence with the borders of Limerick city, and terminate only 

with the mountain-rocks that keep out the Atlantic. In the immediate 

vicinity of Limerick, the road lies over a rich alluvial flat, which 

stretches from the shores of the river to the base of the highlands that rise 

behind the woods of Cratloe. 





CRATLOE CASTLE. 



ISLAND OP SCATTERY. MOUTH OF THE SHANNON. 89 



The neighbourhood of the hamlet of Cratloe possesses two of the solitary 
castelets so frequent in the south of Ireland. One of these is called Cratloe Castle, 
the other Cratloe Beg. They belonged to the lesser chiefs— the feudatories of the 
period — the followers of the lords paramount of Thomond, the O'Briens, in the 
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; and are of the earliest class of castellation. 
The lower chambers are dark and vaulted, the walls massive, and the chambers 
narrow and dimly lighted. They must be regarded as the next in succession to 
the Duns, Kaths, and Liosses of the earlier periods. 

The voyage hence down this magnificent river, to its mouth, is full of interest. 
Sea-rocks, islets, and islands are abundant. Nearly at its mouth, and opposite 
Kilrush, is the far-famed island of Scattery, memorable in ecclesiastical history, 
and celebrated as the residence of that ungallant and un-Irish saint — St. Senanus 
— who having 

" sworn his sainted sod 
Should ne'er by woman's feet be trod," 

refused even to associate with him in his solitude a " sister-saint, St. Cannera, 
whom an angel had taken to the island, for the express purpose of introducing to 
him." But, if we are to credit the poet, 

" Legends hint that had the maid 
Till morning's light delay'd, 
And given the saint one rosy smile, 
She ne'er had left his lonely isle. 

The coast from Kilrush — on the mainland opposite the island — a pretty and 
fashionable bathing-place, round to Kilkee, which faces the Atlantic, may vie for 
sublime grandeur with that of any part of the kingdom. The two towns are 
distant about eight miles by land ; but to reach the one from the other by sea, 
a voyage of little short of forty miles would be necessary ; for the long and narrow 
promontory — the barony of Moyarta — stretches out between them, and forms the 
northern boundary of the mouth of the Shannon. 

The mouth of the Shannon is grand almost beyond conception. Its inhabitants 
point to a part of the river, within the headlands, over which the tides rush with 
extraordinary rapidity and violence. They say it is the site of a lost city, long 
buried beneath the waves ; and that its towers, and spires, and turrets, acting as 
breakers against the tide- water, occasion the roughness of this part of the estuary. 
The whole city becomes visible every seventh year, and has been often seen by the 
fishermen sailing over it ; but the sight bodes ill-luck, for within a month after 
the ill-fated sailor is a corpse. The time of its appearance is also rendered farther 
disastrous by the loss of some boat or vessel, of which, or its crew, no vestige is 
ever after found. In the summer of 1823 the city was last visible, and then 

G 



VO A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



a sail-boat, carrying a crew of fifteen men, perished. The day happened to be 
Sunday ; and it was reported, and of course believed, that the whole fifteen were 
seen, about the same time, at the parish chapel, mixing and conversing amongst 
their neighbours and relatives, as they were accustomed to do in life ; although, in 
a few hours after, the dreadful tidings of their loss reached their families, filling 
the whole community with sorrow and lamentations. 

Crossing to Tarbert, with a view to continue his journey, the tourist will find 
in this neighbourhood also some inducements to delay. If his purpose be to 
reach Killarney without pausing, he will proceed at once to Listowel — distant 
from Tarbert twelve miles and a half ; thence to Tralee, distant from Listowel 
twenty miles; and thence to Killarney, distant from Tralee twenty miles. Tarbert 
contains little to interest ; but Listowel is an improving town, and its castle is 
rich in traditionary lore. 

Listowel is watered by the Feale, a river which the Irish poet has immortalized 
in one of the sweetest of his songs, founded on tradition that a young heir of the 
princely Desmonds, having been benighted while hunting, took shelter in the house 
of one of his dependants, with whose fair daughter he became suddenly enamoured. 
"He married her; and by this inferior alliance alienated his followers, whose 
brutal pride regarded this indulgence of his love as an unpardonable degradation 
of his family." The story rests on the authority of Leland. The poet makes the 
lord thus address his rebellious clan : — 

" You who call it dishonour 

To bow to this flame, 
If you've eyes, look but on her, 

And blush while you blame. 
Hath the pearl less whiteness 

Because of its birth? 
Hath the violet less brightness 

For growing near earth V 

Nearly midway between Tarbert and Listowel are the Caves of Ballybunian. 
They are not often visited ; yet may be classed among the most remarkable of 
the natural wonders of Ireland. The old county historian alludes to them very 
briefly : — " The whole shore here hath a variety of romantic caves and caverns, 
formed by the dashing of the waves; in some places are high open arches, and in 
others impending rocks, ready to tumble down upon the first storm." A small 
volume descriptive of them was published in 1834, by William Ainsworth, Esq. ; 
to which we must refer the reader. They are distinguished by names, each name 
bearing reference to some particular circumstance : as, " The Hunter's Path," 
from a tradition that a rider once rode his horse over it; "Smugglers' Bay," 



ARDFERT ABBEY. 



91 



for centuries famous as a safe shelter for "free traders;" the "Seal Cave," 
&c. &c* 

Tralee is the Assize town of the county. It contains nearly 10,000 inhabitants. 
It has, however, very few temptations to induce even a short stay. Its famous 
castle was removed a few years ago ; and a good street and a pleasant promenade 
occupy its site. The remains of several ruins are in its immediate vicinity; and, 
among others, that of an abbey, in which, for several centuries, the Desmonds 
were buried. The most interesting monastic remains in Kerry are, however, those 




ARDFERT ABBEY. 

of the Abbey of Ardfert — about six miles north-west of Tralee. Ardfert is a 
bishop's see, held in commendam with the bishopric of Limerick. The ruins of 
the cathedral are still in good preservation, and bear marks of high antiquity. In 
the western front are four round arches, and in the eastern front three elegant, 
narrow-pointed windows. On the right of the altar are some niches with Saxon 



* " The cliffs of Ballybunian are even less remarkable for their dimensions, than they are for 
the singular form of rocks, which seem as if carved by the hand of man ; and, independently 
of the lofty mural precipices, whose angular proportions present every variety of arrangement, 
as in Smugglers' Bay, where they oftentimes are semicircularly arranged, like the grain-work 
of an arch, or the tablets or small strings running round a window, or are piled above one 
another in regular succession, presenting a geological phenomenon of great grandeur and mag- 
nificence, they have also other distinct beauties, which originate frequently in similar causes." 

G 2 



92 



A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



mouldings. A round tower 120 feet high, and built chiefly of a dark marble, 
which formerly stood near the west front, suddenly fell down in 1771 — 

" Where my high steeples whilom used to stand, 
On which the lordly falcon wont to towre, 
There now is but an heap of lime and sand 
For the screech-owl to build her baleful bowre." 

A glance at the Map of Kerry will show that a narrow promontory, north of 
Dingle Bay, runs out into the Atlantic, and contains, on the south, Ventry Harbour, 
Dingle Harbour, Mount Eagle, and Castlemaine, and on the north Smerwick, 
Mount Brandon, and Tralee Bay. To visit this wild peninsula, the tourist should 
fix his head-quarters at Tralee ; and, if leisure permit, the visit will be amply 
recompensed. 





FERRITERS CASTLE. 



The peninsula is full of interesting historical associations, as well as abundant 
in natural beauties. We must touch upon them very briefly. The Spaniards had 
settlements in this district ; and remains of the fortifications still exist. The ruins 
of old castles are numerous all along the coast. One of the most conspicuous of 
them is that called Ferriter's Castle, the ancient stronghold of the Ferriters ; the 
last of whom, Pierce Ferriter, took part in the troubles of 1641, and having sur- 
rendered under promise of pardon, was betrayed, and, with all his followers, put to 
the sword. The ruin is situated in a wild spot, almost on the verge of the Atlantic ; 
a single tower is all that endures. 

The whole of the peninsula is indented with bays and harbours ; from which 
the mountains ascend, giving a character of rude grandeur to the scenery. Take, 
for example, a sketch in Dingle Bay. 



DINGLE BAY. CARHA LAKE. 



93 



Between the Bay of Dingle and the Harbour of Kenmare is another huge 
peninsula, upon which a few remarks may be here permitted : although, being 




DINGLE BAY. 



south-west of Killarney, a visit to it will be more properly made from that town. 
Near its northern extremity is Lough Carha. 

The vicinity of Lough Carha has long been a terra incognita ; partly owing to 
the fact that its beauties were unknown to, and consequently undescribed by, 
tourists — having been penetrated only by the sportsman, for whom it had, and has, 
temptations irresistible ; and partly in consequence of the bad roads that led to it, 
and the ill accommodation provided for strangers when there. These obstructions 
to its fame are now in a great degree removed. There is a small and well-con- 
ducted inn, kept by an Englishman, at Glenbay, on the coast of Castlemaine — on 
the high road to Inveragh and Cahirciveen — a centre for the sportsman and the 
tourist ; and where there are lodges for bathers. 

Carha Lake lies about fifteen miles west of Killarney, and is approached by the 
high - road to Killarglin, — a miserable village, about four miles from the lake, where 
is also a small inn. The approach on this side, with the exception of the view of 
the Reeks, is uninteresting. It may be reached also by a new road, branching off 
from the former about ten miles from Killarney, and leading through a ravine in 
the Reeks called Glouncetane, by the very beautiful lake of Coos, and through the 
valley of Glencar to the upper end of the lake. This road well deserves to be 
explored, as there are few parts of Ireland which exceed the valley of Glencar in 
wild and solitary beauty. The lake of Carha, taking its origin in this valley, runs 
in a northerly direction to the sea, to which it is connected by the Carha river, 
about five miles in length, celebrated for its winter salmon-fishing. The length of 
the lake is about seven miles, and its breadth varies from two to four. It is divided 



iU A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



into upper and lower. The lower, which is widest and least picturesque, is, how- 
ever, a very fine sheet of water, and contains many objects of interest. From this 
point is obtained one of the best views of the Reeks. The mountains on the 
eastern side terminate in that of Gortnagloron : it is almost perpendicular, and 
luxuriantly wooded. One of the chain contains a singular cave — the retreat of a 
band of Rapparees in the olden time. The upper lake may be classed among the 
grandest and most beautiful of the lakes of Kerry, being little inferior to its more 
celebrated namesake of Killarney. The mountains here open, surrounding Glencar 
like an immense amphitheatre, at the distance of five or six miles, rising one above 
the other in endless varieties, — with the Reeks and Carran-Tuel towering high 
above the rest. The lake terminates in a long river or bay, navigable for about 
two miles, running up into the glen between scenery of surpassing beauty.* 

South-west of this lake are the wild and picturesque district of Cahirciveen, the 
southern coast of Dingle Bay, and the interesting harbour and island of Valentia 
— with the exception of " the Blasquets," the point of land in Ireland nearest to 
America. In the vicinity of Cahirciveen is " Derrynane," the birth-place of 
O'Connell. It was originally a farm house, and has been added to from time 
to time, according to the increase of the property or family of its possessor. It 
is beautifully situated ; and in its immediate neighbourhood are the picturesque 
ruins of an abbey, founded in the seventh century by the monks of St. Finbar. 
The island of Valentia belongs to " the Knight of Kerry," who resides there, 
giving the good example of an excellent, considerate, and enterprising landlord, 
beloved and respected by all classes ; and making contented, happy, and com- 
paratively prosperous, all who are within his reach. The hospitality of this 
remote region is proverbial. All that was generous, highminded, and truly noble 



* This river ceases to be navigable at a place called Blackstones, where the river from the 
mountain rushes into it through large masses of black rock, from whence its name. At this 
spot, one of the prettiest on the lake, Petty, the ancestor of the Lansdowne family, established, 
about the end of the seventeenth century, a little colony of Englishmen, who selected the site 
for a foundry for smelting iron, both for the convenience of water-carriage and the neighbourhood 
of the large forests that then covered the country. Of this little settlement there still exist 
very interesting remains ; their furnace is almost perfect, surrounded with large heaps of clinkers, 
— the residue of the iron stove ; and the ruined gables of their habitations, amongst which can 
be discovered that of their clergyman and their chapel. A very peculiar interest attaches to 
those remains of bygone industry. The destruction of the Irish woods must have been a very 
profitable speculation, which could have induced them to encounter the many difficulties of their 
situation, where they were obliged to form their little gardens on the bare rocks with earth brought 
a distance of many miles, and where their only communication for provisions and the export of 
their iron was by the lake. Large masses of iron have been found in turning up the ground ; and 
the hops they planted for their ale are now growing wild in the woods. They remained some 
years in the county ; — until, indeed, they had consumed nearly all the timber. 



VALENTIA. "THE SKELLIGS." 95 



in the princely race, has been continued in the line ; and if common report speak 
truly, the heroic qualities of this branch of the Geraldines have remained with 
their descendants. Although very fertile, and still maintaining the distinction 
which Smith bestows upon it, of being " esteemed the granary of the county," the 
only peculiar produce of Valentia is from its slate quarries — the slabs from which 
are of great strength and size, and find a ready market in London. The Spaniards 
occupied the island and harbour until expelled by Cromwell ; whose lieutenant 
erected forts at both the entrances, in order to put a stop to the privateering 
purposes to which it was applied. A harbour light-house of great utility has been 
lately opened. About twelve miles south of the harbour are " the Skelligs," a 
group of rocks which rank among the greatest curiosities of the Atlantic. They 
were formerly celebrated as the resort of pilgrims ; and many a weary penance has 
been performed upon their naked and inhospitable crags. The Great Skellig consists 
of two peaks, which rise from the ocean so perpendicularly as closely to approximate 
to the shape of a sugar-loaf : the larger rising in thirty-four fathoms of the ocean 
to 710 feet above its level; the occasional projections being clothed with grass of 
" a delicious verdure and remarkable sweetness." The island is, at all times, 
nearly covered with sea-fowl ; a circumstance for which Dr. Keating, the fanciful 
" historian " of Ireland, thus accounts : — " There is a certain attractive virtue in 
the soil which draws down all the birds that attempt to fly over it, and obliges 
them to light upon the rock ; " a notion of which the poet has thus availed him- 
self— 

" Islets so freshly fail- 
That never hath bird come nigh them, 
But, from his course through air, 
Hath been won downward by them." 

The peasantry have numerous tales to tell in connexion with these singular rocks ; 
and a whimsical tradition exists, that every madman, if left to his own guidance, 
would make his way towards them. They have, however, of late years lost much 
of their sacred character, and are now-a-days visited by very few penitents. 

Thus, very large districts of Kerry are promontories ; a circumstance to which 
Camden refers, when he describes the county as " shooting forth like a little 
tongue into the sea, roaring on both sides of it." A mine of wealth is therefore 
at hand, which activity and industry, aided by a moderate capital, might easily 
render available ; yet the fisheries are few, and we have heard of none so extensive 
as to be in proportion to the great supply that Providence has placed within the 
reach of those who would turn it to account. In the various rivers in the south, 
the fishermen have a peculiar mode of taking fish, which they call pusha-pike 
fishing. It is performed by a single man, who, at low water, moors his boat to a 
pole fixed in the water, and spreading a net loosely over two poles, placed at an 



96 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



angle, lowers it into the narrow channel of the river ; when this net is touched by 
a fish, his hand, which holds the upper part, feels the touch, and he instantly raises 
the net, as shown in the annexed print, and secures the prize. 




FISHIXG-BOATS. 



But we must return to Tralee. The road from that town to Killamey is 
uninteresting. Still the mighty mountains surround us, and prevent the prospect 
from at any time degenerating into sameness. A range of mountains runs from 
Tralee to the coast. At Slieve-mist (one of them), according to Keating, the 
Milesians, after landing, fought their first battle with the natives. Cahir-con-righ is 
another of the range. On its summit are some singular Dmidic remains ; and it 
is richly stored with legends. Here, indeed, during the fierce wars of Elizabeth's 
reign, the Irish found safe asylums into which their enemies dared not venture. 
When nearing Killarney, the majestic Eeeks come in sight; we pass the work- 
house, a corn-mill at full work, the deer-park, and the pleasant river Deenagh, 
and enter Killamey by its northern suburb. 

Our observations upon this route have referred only to the voyage from Limerick 
to Tarbert, by the Shannon. The journey maybe, and very often is, made by land, 
passing through the famous old towns of Askeaton and Shanagolden ; and this 
route, although less peculiar, and certainly less inviting than that by the great 
" island river," abounds in matters of deep interest that will amply recompense the 
Tourist. About six miles from Limerick, is Carrick-o-Gunnel — the " Rock of the 
Candle ; " one of the most striking and interesting to be found in Ireland. Its site 
is remarkably commanding : it covers the summit of a huge rock, overlooking the 
broad Shannon, the city of Limerick, and miles upon miles of a richly cultivated 
country — filling the mind with vivid images of past power and strife ; while the 
deep dark woods of Cratloe in the distance summon to memory legends of banded 
outlaws, who sheltered there during years of turbulent foray on the one hand, and 



CARRICK-0 -GUNNEL. 



97 



melancholy mismanagement or oppression on the other. This interesting remain 
of antiquity the Tourist should on no account omit to visit ; and it lies on his 
route, or, at all events, a very short way out of it. 



^S*s 



CARRICK-0 -GUNNEL. 



The castle must have been of amazing strength, and the outworks evidently 
extended a long way down the adjacent slope, for some traces of the old walls may 
still be discovered. It is said to have been built by the O'Brien family, and was 
the seat of Donogh O'Brien in 1530, having been frequently " lost and won " 
during the contests with the Earls of Desmond. It became a ruin, however, only 
so recently as 1689. During the siege of Limerick it was garrisoned by the 
adherents of James the Second; but they surrendered, without resistance, to Major- 
General Scravenmore — " which seems to have been," writes the historian of the 
period, " rather from a want of instructions what to do, than courage to defend it ; 
for, to give the Irish their due, they can defend stone walls very handsomely." 
This same historian, Dean Story, was entrusted with the office of destroying the 
castle, and received no less a sum than 1601. for the purchase of gunpowder to 
"■ blow up Carrick-o-Gunnel and Castle Connell." The effects of the explosion are 
still sufficiently obvious, for huge masses of broken walls are scattered about in 
picturesque confusion ; although one or two of the towers and portions of the 
ramparts still endure in a state of tolerable preservation. We ascended one of 
the towers with some difficulty ; but our toil was amply recompensed — never can 
we forget the grand and beautiful scene that was then brought within our ken ! 

Askeaton, distant about seventeen miles from Limerick, is a populous and busy- 
looking town, situate on the river Deel, near its junction with the Shannon. A 



98 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY 



waterfall of considerable elevation, formed by a barrier of rock stretching across 
the entire bed of the river, and visible from the town, has given name to the place 
— As-cead-tinne, " The Cascade of the Hundred Fires." The fires were probably 
in some way connected with the ritual of the Druids — the old Irish Ghebres. It 
was a holiday when we entered Askeaton, and its streets were densely crowded — 
business, or pleasure, or devotion, as well as the fineness of the day, having con- 
gregated together a very numerous population. This circumstance gave the place, 
to our minds, an aspect of cheering industry, which probably otherwise it has no 
claim to. At all events, its command of the tide-water, and its favourable position, 
ought to entitle it to a considerable trade : in England it would surely possess it. 
An excellent bridge of five depressed arches connects both sides of the town, for it 
lies on either bank of its river. The place was formerly surrounded with a wall 
and other defences. The castle, an ancient residence and stronghold of the Earls 
of Desmond, stands at the foot of the bridge, and even in its extreme ruin shows 
that it had been a pile of great strength and importance. About two miles from 
Askeaton is the small village of Shanagolden ; one mile south-east of which, and 
closely approaching the mountainous tract lying between Limerick and Kerry, 
stands out a prominent grassy hill of considerable elevation and steepness : it is 
unconnected with any other eminence in its vicinity. This is the Hill of 
Shannid — quasi Shanait, 
"The Old Place." It ter- 
minates in a double peak, 
evidently artificial, each form- 
ing a truncated cone, fashioned 
in ages remote for purposes of 
defence. That to the north is 
surmounted by a castle, the 
area of which, 180 feet in cir- 
cumference, covers the whole 
extent of platform. In height 
this structure is something be- 
tween thirty and forty feet; 
the walls are ten feet in thick- 
ness. Its form is polygonal 
without, circular within. It 
contains neither vault nor 
staircase. An external wall 
about twenty feet in height, and but little in advance from it, surrounds the 
structure. Lower down a deep fosse, 600 feet in circumference, flanked by an 
earthen rampart, forms a girdle round the hill. Previously to the seventeenth 




HILL OP SHANNII). 



FAMILY MOTTOES. 99 



century this castle was held by the Earls of Desmond, and the cry of " Shannid 
aboo," i. e. " Shannid victorious," or " Hurra for Shannid," forms the motto of the 
Knights of Glin, — a still subsisting branch of the Geraldines, — as " Crom-aboo," 
from Croom, in the same county, has been adopted as the motto of another branch 
of the same spreading family — that of the Duke of Leinster.* The southern peak 
is crowned by one of the ancient Raths — a hill fort, formed of earth, and surrounded 
with deep fosses and ramparts. 

Glin, the village next reached by this route — about fifteen miles from Askeaton 
and four from Tarbert, — is a small and poor place, but full of interesting historic 
associations. Near to it is Glin Castle, the dwelling of the Knight of Glin. 

To the town of Tarbert we have already referred, describing the mode by which 
the tourist proceeds hence to Killarney. 

* Many of these war-cries are retained as family mottoes — that of the Fitzgeralds, for example, 
" Crom-aboo," by the Duke of Leinster ; others have been long since abandoned ; and others have 
departed with the families who bore them. The O'Neal's cry was Lamh-dearg-aboo — Huzza for 
the red hand (his crest) ; O'Brien's, Lamh-laider-aboo — Huzza for strong hand ; the Bourkes,' 
Galraigh-aboo — Huzza for the red Englishmen ; the Fitzpatricks', Gear-laider-aboo — Huzza for 
strong and sharp — (alluding to their crest, a lion and a dragon) ; the Mac Swineys', Battailah- 
aboo — Huzza for the noble staff; the Hiffernans', Ceart-na-suas-aboo— Huzza for the right from 
above ; the Husseys', Cair-direach-aboo — Huzza for strict justice, &c. &c. In the tenth year of the 
reign of Henry the Seventh, an act was passed prohibiting the use of these family war-cries : 
" Item, prayen the commons in this present Parliament assembled ; that forasmuch as there has 
been great variances, malices, debates, and comparisons between divers lords and gentlemen of 
this land, which hath daily increased by seditious means of diverse, idle, and ill-disposed persons, 
utterly taking upon them to be servants to such lords and gentlemen ; for that they would be 
borne in their said idleness, and their other unlawful demeaning, and nothing for any favour or 
entirely good love or will that they bear unto such lords and gentlemen. Therefore it be enacted 
and established by the same authority, That no person, ne persons, of whatsoever estate, condition, 
or degree he or they be of, take part with any lord or gentleman, or uphold any such variances or 
comparisons in word or deed, as in useing these words, Com-abo, Butler-abo, or other words like, 
or otherwise contrary to the king's laws, his crown, and dignity, and peace ; but to call on St. George, 
or the name of his sovereign lord the King of England for the time being. And if any person 
or persons, of whatsoever estate, condition, or degree he or they be of, do contrary so offending in 
the premisses, or any of them, be taken and committed to ward, there to remain without bayle or 
mainprize, till he or they have made fine after the discretion of the king's deputy of Ireland, and 
the king's counsail of the same for the time being." — Rot. Pari. cap. 38. 



100 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



BY KILMALLOCK AND MALLOW. 




OOD reasons may be urged for preferring the route 
from Limerick to Killarney through Kilmallock and 
Mallow, as upon this road several objects of deep interest 
may be visited. The first and principal is Lough Gur. 
This secluded lake is distant about ten miles from the 
city. It is irregular in form, and the circumference is 
between four and five miles. In this lake the last of the 
Desmonds is detained in thrall.* From its bosom rise one 
large and three or four small islands. The principal island, which 
is connected with the eastern shore by a causeway, contains about 
sixty acres, and is called Knock-a-dun, or the Fortified Knoll. In 
the days of the Desmonds, two strong square towers defended the most accessible 
points of approach on the eastern and southern sides. One of these towers, 



* The legend is, that the last chieftain of the Desmonds keeps his state under the waters of 
the lake, from which he rises at daybreak on the morning of every seventh year, and rides fully 
armed and accoutred for contest round its shores ; and this duty he is compelled to discharge 
until the shoes of his steed, which are made of silver, are worn out ; when the term of his en- 
chantment will expire, and he will return to earth to resume his station and regain his estates. 
About seventy years ago, Mr. Stackpoole Baylee made some attempts to drain the lake, and 
formed a channel to convey the water into ground still lower. The progress of the work was 
stopped by the sudden death of that gentleman, who was killed by a fall from his horse on 
returning at night from the house of a neighbour with whom he had dined. It is scarcely necessary 
to add that the peasants universally attributed the circumstance to an encounter with the Earl of 
Desmond, who killed the new proprietor of the lands for his presumption in attempting to disturb 
the chieftain in his dominion beneath the waters. There is another curious legend connected 
with this lake, but not peculiar to it : it is, that for many years no farmer could cultivate an acre 
of ground along its borders ; for the moment the grass or corn sprung up, the young shoots were 
eaten off by some unseen and unknown animal. A sturdy fellow, however, set himself to watch, 
night after night ; and at length he saw a fine fat milch cow, followed by seven milk-white 
heifers, emerge from the lough, and enter his meadow : he ran between them and the water, 
and closed the gate of the field, but not before the old cow, more " cute " than her progeny, had 
rushed by him and made her escape ; but the calves remained and became his property — and 
" mighty proud he was of them, for there weren't the likes of them in the barony." One night 
he left the gate open, and next morning his singular visitors were gone. Sir Walter Scott, in a 
letter " to the Author of the Fairy Legends," has this remarkable passage : " As for the water- 
bull, they live who will take their oaths to having seen them emerge from a small lake on the 
boundary of my property here (Abbotsford), scarce large enough to have held him, I should 
think." 



DRUIDICAL REMAINS. 



101 




LOUGH GUR CASTLE. 



called " the Black Castle," adjoins the residence of the Misses Baylee, whose 
ancestors formerly 
controlled a large 
portion of the sur- 
rounding district. 
But it is the ex- 
tensive assemblage 
of Druidical re- 
mains on this island 
and around the 
lake, that renders 
it perhaps the most 
interesting spot in 
Ireland for an 
antiquarian visit ; 
yet, strange to say, 
these gigantic re- 
lics, which extend 
over many miles of 
country, have been 

allowed to remain unexplored and undescribed, although probably they form the 
most magnificent Druidical work, considered as a whole, that exists in the world. 
In 1830, Mr. Crofton Croker communicated to the Antiquarian Society of London 
the observations made by him during an investigation of three days, and " so 
obvious," he states, " is the connexion between the various circles, pillar-stones, 
altars, and other works, that an examination of one leads the eye to discover others ; " 
and thus was he led on from one remain to another, over a space of country the 
circumference of which he estimates at not less than ten miles. " Beyond this," 
he adds, " even at a distance of fifteen miles in a direct line from the lake, I found 
stone circles and other Druidical works, between which and those at Lough Gur 
I was unable to establish a connexion, although it appears probable that such once 
existed." 

There are three stone circles on the west side of the lake, close to the high road : 
the tourist will perhaps act judiciously in making them his starting point, and pro- 
ceeding round the lake by a road which branches off at a place called Holy Cross. 
This road will lead him by the ruined church, which stands on an eminence that 
descends to the southern shore of the lake. The roofless and deserted walls, repre- 
sented in the annexed print, still retain the name of " the New Church." It was 
built by Lady Bath, as appears by the chalice and patine now preserved in the 
neighbouring church of Knockaney. From this point various stone circles and other 



102 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



ponderous remains may be seen ; and a serpentine passage of considerable length, 
formed by parallel lines 

of huge masses of stone, _._ L C^i. / ■■■-' "_^ 

can be traced from the / 

shore, terminating in 
the Red Bog, a tract of 
low ground at some dis- 
tance. The opposite 
side of the road from 
that on which the 
church stands is crowd- 
ed with Druidical works, 
which it is impossible 
for us to particularise ; 
one, however, called 
by the country people 
" Labig yermuddagh a 
Grana/' — that is, Edward and Grace's Bed, — is here represented. 




CHUKCH AT HOLY CROSS. 




EDWARD AND GRACE S BED. 



This was probably a tomb. It had been a complete oblong chamber, formed by 
great stones, and covered over with vast flags. The length of this sepulchral 
chamber was thirteen feet and a half, the breadth six feet. An old woman resided 
in it for many years, and on her death the covering stones were thrown off, and it 
was left in its present state by " money-diggers, who found only some burned 
bones in an ould jug, that surely was not worth one brass farthing." Above this 
tomb a tabular rock, upwards of ten feet in circumference, rests upon four sup- 
porters ; and not far distant there is a singular natural formation called " Car- 
rignanahin, or the Mass Rock." It is full of chasms and hollows, and is said to 
have received its name from a priest having regularly celebrated within one of its 
recesses the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, at a period when that 
religion was proscribed. 



DRUTDICAL REMAINS. 



103 



The eastern shore of Lough Gur abounds also with mighty vestiges of Druidical 
power. One eminence particularly, called Carrickgalla, has two remarkable cir- 
cular works of Cyclopian masonry, termed by the country people " Danish forts ; * " 




THE MASS KOCK. 

and in all directions branching off from the once sacred shores of this beautiful 
and romantic lake, 

evidence exists of an jjjjl C-v.. 

assemblage of altars, lg> 

temples, caves, and 
tombs, much too nu- 
merous for us even 
to notice in the most 
rapid manner. This 
chain of Druidical 
works extends into 
the county of Tip- 
perary. A crom- 
leach, the largest we 
have ever seen, stands 
on Galtee More ; and 
on Cromwell Hill a 
sepulchral chamber, called Labig yermuddah, or Edward's Bed, here represented, 




EDWARD S BED. 



* The vulgar tradition which attributes so many of the antiquities of Ireland to the Danes 
has probably arisen from a mistranslation of " Tuatha-de-danaun," — the Danonians, one of the 
oldest tribes of the aboriginal Irish, who were supposed to erect all their works by magic. 



104 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



and similar to that upon the southern side of Lough Gur, which we have just 
depicted. 

Passing through Bruff, the Tourist reaches the singularly interesting town of Kil- 
mallock, not inaptly termed the " Balbec of Ireland." It was the chief seat of " the 
Desmonds." Their history is akin to romance. Throughout the south of Ireland, 
and in Limerick county more especially, it will be difficult to travel a dozen miles 
in any direction without encountering some object that tells of their former greatness.* 
Kilmallock is now a mass of ruins ; miserable hovels are propped up by the walls 
of stately mansions, and " the ancient and loyal borough " — for so it was styled so 
recently as 1783, when it retained the privilege of sending two members to Par- 
liament — is as humiliating a picture of fallen grandeur as may be found in any 
country of the world : 

" The peasant holds the lordly pile, 
And cattle fill the roofless aisle." 

The ancient houses, or rather the remains of them, are of hewn stone, and appear 
to have been built on a uniform plan ; 
they were generally of three stories, 
ornamented with an embattlement, and 
tasteful stone mouldings ; the limestone 
window-frames, stone mullions, and 
capacious fire-places, are carved in a 
bold and massive style, and retain nearly 
their original sharpness. Unfortunately, 
however, there is no care for the pre- 
servation of these interesting remains ; 
they are daily becoming less and less ; 
much of the fine materials may be found 
built up in the neighbouring cabins, and 
much more has been broken up to repair 
the street. A few — very few — of the 
massive and elaborate residences of the 
ancient burghers still endure ; and the 
castellated gate-houses, which guarded 
the entrances to the town from the 




AT KILMALLOCK. 



* The whole central district of Limerick is, indeed, studded with remains, religious and cas- 
tellated, still emphatically speaking of the former power of the Geraldines— now ruined and 
decayed. A chain of towers may be traced in continuous succession from the Shannon to Kil- 
mallock indicating the territorial supremacy of the Fitzgeralds ; whilst their numerous and 
elaborate ecclesiastical structures tell of the wealth, munificence, and taste of that noble race. 
Kilmallock, Askeaton, and Adare are deservedly objects of pilgrimage, to all who love the 
picturesque and relics of the magnificent. 



KILMALLOCK, THE " BAALBEC OP IRELAND. 



105 



Limerick and Cork sides, still stand in tolerable preservation. The walls, although 
rather ruinous, still surround the town, harmonising in their dilapidation with its 
altered fortunes. The preceding engraving is a copy of one of the few remaining 
doors, braced with iron. The abbey and church, being held sacred by the peasantry, 
are in a better state of preservation than the houses. 

The former, which stands within the town walls, and adjoins the river, was 
dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul. It consists of a nave, choir, and south transept. 
The choir is still used for 
divine service, whilst the 
nave and transept are un- 
roofed. The former (the 
nave) is subdivided by a 
range of four pointed 
arches, springing from 
three square columns of 
plain mason-work. There 
are several old tombs within 
the body of the nave and 
transept. Standing in the 
centre of the west wall is 
a circular belfry, rising, in 
two unequal stages, to some 
height above the church. 
It is perforated by several 
pointed windows, and seems 
to be coeval with the church 
of which it forms a part. 
Round Towers. 

The Dominican Friary, of which we also give a view, is situate at the north-east 
side of the town. It is subdivided into a church and convent. The former is 
again separated into a choir, nave, and transept, a tall steeple standing at their 
intersection ; the west wall of which, as well as the south wall of the steeple, has 
fallen down. A distinguished English antiquary, the late Sir Eichard Hoare, 
observes of this friary, " It surpasses in decoration and good sculpture any I have 
yet seen in Ireland ; but does not," he adds, " seem older than the reign of King 
Edward the Third." The east window is " in a chaste and elegant style ; " and 
there are many parts of the building that merit notice, and furnish good subjects 
for the pencil in a variety of points of view. A great part of the cloisters still 
remains ; but it was never of an ornamental character, the ambulacrum having 
been formed only of timber. In the choir is a handsome canopied niche. A 

H 




RUINS, KILMALLOCK. 



It has been erroneously described as one ol the ancient 



10G 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




RUINS, KILMALLOCK. 

It was so named by the Earl of 
compliment to Charles II., being 



fragment of the 
tomb of the White 
Knights also lies 
on the ground ; a 
small hollow in 
the middle of 
which is said by 
the peasantry to 
be never without 
water. This they 
call the Braon 
shinsher, i. e. the 
" drop of the old 
stock." 

Charleville is 
next reached ; then 
Buttevant ; and 

then Millstreet. Charleville is a poor town. 
Orrery, the Lord President of Munster, as 
before called, to use his lordship's 
expression, " by the heathenish 
name of Rathgogan." Here Lord 
Orrery resided and held his court, 
and many curious traditions are 
current respecting him, especially 
that which relates to the prophecy 
of Exham, the Quaker associate 
of William Penn, who, it is 
asserted, foretold the destruction 
of the Earl's residence by the 
Duke of Berwick in 1690. 

From Charleville, a road runs 
through Newmarket to Killarney ; 
but the tourist will prefer, although 
somewhat longer, that which passes 
through Buttevant, the neighbour- 
hood of which contains one object 
at which he will desire to linger. 

Buttevant, described by Borlace "an old nest of abbots, priests, and friars," 
though formerly a place of note, dwindled into a mere village with the decay of 




TOMB AT BUTTEVANT. 



KILCOLEMAN. RESIDENCE OP THE POET SPENSER. 



107 



its noble abbey. . The name is said to have been derived from the war-cry — 
" Boutez-en avant " — used by David de Barry, one of the early English invaders, 
in his battles with the Irish : of his tomb we annex a sketch. Buttevant was 
anciently called Botham ; and by the Irish — a name which Spenser has recorded 
— Kilnemullagh. It was surrounded by a stone wall with gateways, and was 
governed by a corporation ; scattered among wretched hovels, may be detected 
many traces of its former consequence. 

Buttevant and its neighbourhood — its hills, its valleys, and its rivers — have been 
rendered classic by the pen of the immortal poet ; for Spenser not only resided at 
Kilcoleman — the ruined walls of which still remain — but here he composed his 
Fairy Queen, making surrounding objects themes of his undying song. Spenser 
first visited Ireland in the year 1580, as secretary to the lord deputy, Lord Grey 
de Wilton ; and discharged the duties of the office — obtained for him by the 
interest of his noble and gentle patron Sir Philip Sidney — with ability and 




KILCOLEMAN CASTLE. 



integrity. In 1582, he returned to England; and in 1586, he obtained a grant — 
dated the 27th June of that year — of 3028 acres of the forfeited estates of the 
Earl of Desmond, at the rent of 171. 13s. 6d. He received it on the same 
conditions as the other " undertakers " — conditions which implied a residence on 
the property thus acquired, the policy of the Queen being to people the province 
of Munster with English families. Spenser took up his residence at the castle of 
Kilcoleman. Four years of happy tranquillity here passed away, bearing for the 

h2 



108 A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



world the glorious fruit of the first three books of the Fairy Queen. These he 
conveyed to London, in company with his Mend Sir Walter Raleigh, and there 
published them. On his return to Ireland he married, as he tells us, a country lass 
of mean birth, whose name was Elizabeth. During the six years that succeeded, 
he wrote the fourth, fifth, and sixth books of the Fairy Queen, and printed an able 
and statesmanlike view of the condition of Ireland. A dreadful calamity now 
awaited him — the fatal corroboration of his opinions respecting the country. The 
Tyrone rebellion broke out (in 1598) ; his estate was plundered; Kilcoleman was 
bmned by the Irish ; in the flames his youngest child perished ; and he was driven 
into England with his wife and remaining children — a poor and wretched exile. 
This affliction he never recovered ! — dying a year after, in an obscure lodging in 
London, in extreme indigence, if not in absolute want. 

Of Spenser's domestic life at Kilcoleman we know little more than what he has 
recorded. The fire that destroyed his child no doubt consumed many valuable 
papers, and possibly the concluding books of the Fairy Queen ; although more than 
mere rumour exists for believing that the " lost books " have been preserved, and 
that the manuscript was in the possession of a Captain Garrett Nagle within the 
last fifty years. 

In the neighbourhood of Kilcoleman there are several objects to which Spenser 
has especially referred ; and we are justified in concluding that the country around 
him excited his imagination, influenced his muse, and gave being to many of his 
most sublime and beautiful descriptions of scenery, 

" Mole, that mountain hore, 
And Mulla mine, whose waves I whilome taught to weep ; " 

— the river and the mountain still endure, but the poet's estate long ago passed 
into the hands of those who have neither his name nor lineage. 

The town of Mallow is reached next from Buttevant, But, as we have elsewhere 
observed, the more direct route from Buttevant is by Kanturk, and from Kanturk 
to Millstreet ; and so to Killarney. 




is the Earl of Kenmare, a 



The town of Killarney* is distant about a mile from 
the north-east shore of the Lower Lake. It is a poor 
town • and, although surrounded by resident gentry, 
has a worn and withered look. Its " public build- 
ings " have a wretchedly dilapidated aspect, and its 
church seems rapidly falling to decay ; yet the popu- 
lation is considerable, exceeding 10,000 ; and the num- 
ber of houses may be about 1200. The proprietor 
of Killarney and a large portion of the adjoining district 
Roman Catholic peert, whose family first entered Ireland 



* " Hibernice, Cill-airne, or the Church near the Sloe-trees." (Windele.) The legend is, 
that three sister saints established themselves in this neighbourhood, and built churches here 
—Aha, whence Kill-aha; Agi, whence Kill-agi ; and Airne, whence Kill-airne. 

f it is only justice to the noble Earl, however, to state that he is in no degree responsible for the 



110 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



a. d. 1555, and whose ancestor, Sir Valentine Browne, received, as an English 
" undertaker* " a grant of 6560 acres of the estates forfeited in the Desmond 
rebellion, temp. Elizabeth. The property so acquired he increased by purchase, 
and it was subsequently augmented by intermarriages with the princely families of 
the Fitzgeralds, Mac Carthys, and O'Sullivans. 

When the Down survey was completed, about the year 1656, there was no such 
town as Killarney in existence. Sir William Petty then surveyed the parish of 



dilapidated condition of Killarney, over which he has in reality very little influence, chiefly arising 
out of the old wretched system of grantiDg long leases for heavy fines. We heard enough, and 
saw enough, of the patriotic, generous, and considerate character of his lordship, to believe that 
if the power to renovate the town lay with him, it would be very soon done ; while of the good- 
ness, charity, and liberality of his estimable lady — an English lady, sister of the late Eight Hon. 
Wilmot Horton— there seems to be but one voice to speak in Killarney. All classes unite in 
affectionate and grateful praise : evidence of her kindly thinking, and beneficial acting, is to be 
found every where. Killarney swarms with idlers, and (as we shall elsewhere remark) there 
is no end to juvenile guides ; the children are all born guides. They seem to have a talent pecu- 
liar to themselves for gaining inaccessible places, and a desire to induce every one else to do 
the same thing ; and though Charity opens both her hands, — and the resident gentry are always 
giving, and always employing, — they abound around, and in, the town. You wonder where 
the children come from that congregate in the streets ; yet the national school is full ; the 
schools supported by private charity are generally full ; and the schools for female children, 
where six or eight kind nuns devote their lives to their instruction, is crowded : there the 
children are taught not only plain work, which they do well, but that beautiful white embroidery 
which decorates the collars and cuffs of our elegantes. The sale of these articles enables the 
country girls to purchase some cottage comforts, — which it is in the power of our fair tourists to 
enable them to do at a small sacrifice. We hope that many of them will procure specimens of 
the beautiful work— recollecting that every article here procured may be the means of adding 
a necessary or a luxury to a village home. 

* The estates confiscated in the Desmond Eebellion contained nearly 600,000 acres, in the 
counties of Cork, Limerick, Kerry, and Waterford : more than one half were restored to the 
1 ' pardoned traitors ; " the remainder was divided into seigniories of 12,000, 8000, 6000, and 
4000 acres. The English undertaker was to have an estate in fee-farm, yielding for each 
seigniory of 12,000 acres, for the first three years 321. 6s. 8d. sterling, and after that period 
double the amount. The undertaker was to have for his own demesne 2100 acres; for six 
farmers, 400 acres each ; six freeholders, 100 acres each; and the residue was to be divided into 
smaller tenures, on which thirty-six families at least were to be established. The lesser 
seigniories were to be laid out and peopled in the same manner, in proportion to their extent. 
Each undertaker was to people his seigniory in seven years ; he was to have licence to export 
all commodities duty free to England for five years — the planters were to be English, and no 
English planter was permitted to convey to any mere Irish. Each undertaker was bound to 
furnish the state with three horsemen and six footmen armed — the lesser seigniories in the 
same proportion ; and each copyholder was to find one footman armed ; but they were not com- 
pelled to serve out of Munster for seven years, and then to be paid by the crown. 



KENMARE HOUSE. THE HOTELS. Ill 



Killarney ; but neither in his general map, nor in his barony maps, is there any 
notice of a town or village of the name. When Thomas, the fourth Lord Ken- 
mare, came of age in 1747, the town consisted of only his lordship's house, and not 
more than three or four slated houses and 100 thatched cabins, and the whole popu- 
lation could not have exceeded 500. Before the Revolution Lord Kenmare's 
family resided at Ross in the castle, and in a contiguous fortified house, and did 
not reside at Killarney till 1721. Smith, in 1756, says, " A new street with a 
large commodious inn are designed to be built here ; for the curiosities of the 
neighbouring lake have of late drawn great numbers of curious travellers to visit 
it." The town lies in a valley ; the lake is concealed from view by the well- 
wooded demesne of Lord Kenmare. 

The entrance-gate to Kenmare House is directly opposite the Cork road into 
the town. Although standing in a position unaccountably ill chosen, considering 
that the finest sites in the vicinity were at the command of the builder, the grounds 
are skilfully and tastefully laid out, and command extensive views of the lakes 
and mountains. The demesne is indeed one of surpassing beauty — an elegant 
mind and a refined taste are every where apparent. 

Entering Killarney, the first question of the Tourist will naturally concern the 
hotel or lodging in which he is to be located. Upon this important topic we shall 
supply all the information we have been enabled to collect. He will have a choice 
of two hotels in the town, and three or four in the country. In the town, the 
Kenmare Arms and the Hibernian Hotel are good inns ; but the former is greatly 
the best. Still, as with all town houses, the walls are old, the atmosphere is close, 
the " looks-out" are by no means agreeable, and the sounds which the windows let 
in are any thing but melodious. The Kenmare Arms is an excellently managed 
establishment ; but we cannot recommend any tourist to locate there, — unless the 
dwellings beside the Lakes are too crowded to permit him entrance. The incal- 
culable advantages of these buildings — situated in the very centre of Killarney 
attractions — can be sufficiently estimated only by those who have experienced the 
exceeding annoyance incident to even a brief residence in the town.* Establish- 
ments more entirely satisfactory than the lake Hotels — " the Victoria" and " the 



* Mr. Weld states that so late as the year 1806, neither of the three inns of Killarney "afforded 
a coach-house." He adds — writing in 1812 — "it is much to be regretted that there is no place of 
public accommodation, not even a single house, on the confines of the lake, where apartments can 
be procured ; for, independent of the inconvenience of going and returning, some disgust is liable 
to be felt at the sudden transition from the rural and sequestered scenery of the lake to the 
hurry and bustle of a noisy town, which is always crowded with idle people, and among whom 
beggars, as in every place of public resort in Ireland, bear a very conspicuous proportion." Mr. 
Weld's " Illustrations of the Scenery of Killarney" were published in 1812. It was the first work 
that drew attention to the Lakes, and — allowing for the numerous changes induced by time — 



11- A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



Herbert Arms" and the " Lake Hotel" are seldom to be found in any part of 
Great Britain. 

The Herbert Arms was commenced by Mr. Roche (the father of the present pro- 
prietor) upon a comparatively small scale ; it has gradually increased, and is now 
a very extensive and commodious building. This hotel is situate about two miles 
from the town, in the village of Cloghreen, directly opposite the entrance-gate to 
Mucross demesne, and within a stone's throw of " the Abbey ;" it is near the foot 
of Mangerton, within half a mile of the Tore Waterfall, — the most beautiful of the 
Killarney Falls, — and on the direct route to the Upper Lake, and the " new line" 
to Kenmare. Its site is therefore highly advantageous, being equally " con- 
venient" to the three Lakes ; but, unfortunately, " the view" is excluded by the 
tall trees of the demesne ; and although this disadvantage may be in a degree 
removed, it must be always regretted that the building was not placed a field 
or two higher up — or near the boat-house. 

The Victoria was built about twelve years ago by Mr. Finn, who was previously 
for above twenty years landlord of the Kenmare Arms. It is a concern of great 
magnitude ; most admirably conducted in all respects ; and occupies a site 
peculiarly auspicious. It stands on the northern bank of the Lower Lake, about 
a mile and a half from the town. Immediately fronting the windows are the 
Toomies, Purple Mountain, and beautiful Glena ; while midway, in a direct line, 
is fair Inisfallen. To the right are seen the gigantic Reeks — with the entrance 
to Dunloe Gap ; to the left is rugged and lofty Mangerton ; behind is the hill, 
topped by the ruins of Aghadoe, and fringed by the beautiful woods of Lady 
Hedley's demesne ; so that, look where we will over the noble expanse of water, 
or towards the land, some object of interest meets our view. The situation of 
this hotel is therefore most auspicious ; and it will be impossible for us to speak 
too highly of all the arrangements connected with it. To these we shall more 
directly refer in our " Guide-notes," at the end of this volume. 

The " Lake Hotel" was until very recently a private residence, famous for its 
beauty of situation, the fine growth of trees, and the little island which forms part 
of the demesne, on which stand the picturesque remains of an ancient castle — 
Castle Lough. The whole of this demesne, with all its advantages, now forms 
a part of the hotel grounds. The hotel is surrounded by the most beautiful 
of the scenery of Killarney : it is bounded on the southern side by Mucross, on 



it may even now be received as authority upon all matters connected with the subject. The 
book is most valuable and most interesting — the production of a highly accomplished mind. 
Mr. Weld was, or rather is — for happily he is one of the living worthies of Ireland — a close 
observer, a ripe scholar, and a traveller who learned from travel not to decry, but to appreciate, 
the beauties of his native land. 



THE HOTELS. BEGGARS. 



113 



the north by the woods of Cahernane, and, in front, views are commanded of the 
principal islands — Inisfallen, Ross and its castle, Rough island, Brown island, and 
several smaller islands, with Glena bay, and Meadow bay. Views are hence also 
obtained of Mangerton, Tore Waterfall, and Derricunnihy cascade, and the summits 
of the several mountains which look down upon the lakes. The landlord is 
Mr. Thomas Cotter ; and of this hotel we shall again have to speak. 

A fourth hotel, but of a less extensive character, is " in progress" on one of the 
hills, which overlook the town. It is called Tore-view. 

To one of these hotels, therefore, we may imagine the Tourist safely trans- 
ferred by one of the cars attendant on each — always " in waiting" in the town. 
He has driven through the crowd of idlers and beggars ever round the coaches, 
and effectually escaped out of reach of such annoyances — sad drawbacks upon 
enjoyments derivable from "the Lakes." 

Time out of mind, Killarney has been famous for Beggars ; and as this subject 
is one that will have demanded the Tourist's attention from his first stepping upon 
Irish ground, he will not consider out of place some remarks concerning them. 

Their wit and humour are as proverbial as their rags and wretchedness ; and 
both too frequently excite a laugh, at the cost of serious reflection upon their 
misery and the means by which it may be lessened. Every town is full of objects 
who parade their afflictions with ostentation, or exhibit their half-naked children, 
as so many claims to alms as a right. Age, decrepitude, imbecility, and disease 
surround the car the moment it stops, or block up the shop-doors, so as for a time 
effectually to prevent either entrance or exit. In the small town of Macroom, 
about which we walked one evening, desiring to examine it undisturbed, we had 
refused, in positive terms, to relieve any applicant ; promising, however, to bestow 
the next morning a halfpenny each upon all who might ask it. The news 
spread, and no beggars intruded themselves on our notice for that night. Next 
day it cost us exactly three shillings and tenpence to redeem the pledge we had 
given ; no fewer than ninety-two having assembled at the inn gate. We encoun- 
tered them, nearly in the same proportion, in every town through which we 
passed. It is vain to plead inability to give relief ; if you have no halfpence the 
answer is ready, " Ah, but we'll divide a little sixpence between us ;" and then 
comes the squabble as to which of the group shall be made agent for the rest. 
Every imaginable mode of obtaining a gratuity is resorted to ; distorted limbs are 
exposed, rags are studiously displayed, and, almost invariably, a half idiot, with 
his frightful glare and paralysed voice, is foremost among them. The language in 
which they frame their petitions is always pointed, forcible, and, generally, highly 
poetic : — " Good luck to yer ladyship's happy face this morning — sure ye'll lave 
the light heart in my bussom before ye go?" — " Oh, then, look at the poor that 
can't look at you, my lady '; the dark man that can't see if yer beauty is like yer 



114 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



sweet voice ;" — " Darlin gintlenian, the heavens be yer bed, and give us some- 
thing ;" — " Oh, the blessing of the widdy and five small childer, that's waiting 
for yer honour's bouDty, 'ill be wid ye on the road ;" — " Oh, help the poor cray- 
thur that's got no childer to show yer honour — they're down in the sickness, and 
the man that owns them at sea ;" — " Oh, then, won't your ladyship buy a dying 
woman's prayers — chape ? " — " They're keeping me back from the penny you're 
going to give me, lady dear, because I'm wake in myself and the heart's broke 
wid the hunger." Such are a few of the sentences we gathered from the groups ; 
we might fill pages with similar examples of ingenious and eloquent appeals. 
There is no exaggeration in the striking but melancholy scene the artist has 
portrayed. 

A beggar, on receiving a refusal from a Poor Law Commissioner, addressed him 
with " Ah, then, it's little business you'd have only for the likes of us ;" another, 
vainly soliciting charity from a gentleman with red hair, thrust forward her child, 
with " And won't ye give a ha'penny to the little boy ? — sure he's foxy like yer 




honour." " You've lost all your teeth," was said to one of them — " Time for 
me to lose 'em when I'd nothing for them to do," was the reply. Some time ago 
we were travelling in a stage-coach, and at Naas, where it has been said "the 
native beggars double the population of the town," a person inside told a trouble- 
some and perservering applicant very coarsely to go to . The woman turned 



BEGGARS. 



115 



up her eyes, and said, with inimitable humour, "Ah, then it's a long journey yer 
honour's sending us ; may be yer honour '11 give us something to pay our ex- 
penses." We saw, in Waterford, a gentleman angrily repulse a beggar, with a 
call to his servant to shut the door ; and an odd soliloquy followed : the woman 
half murmured and half hissed, " Shut the door ! and that's it, is it ? Oh, then, 
that's what I'll be saying to you when ye want to pass through the gate of heaven. 
It's then I'll be saying to St. Peter, Shut the door, St. Peter, says I, to a dirty 
nagur, that 'ud disgrace the place intirely, says I — and ye'll be axing me to let 
ye in ; the never a fat, says I— shut the door, says I ; shut the door ! Ould-go- 
by-the-ground (the person who had excited, her wrath was of diminutive stature), 
what '11 ye say then ?" " May the spotted fever split ye in four halves !" was a 
curse uttered by a beggar who had been rejected somewhat roughly. " Foxy- 
head, foxy-head," was called out by one as a reproach to another ; " That ye may 
never see the Dyer ! " was the instant answer. Our purse having been exhausted, we 
had been deaf to the prayer of one who 
was covered so meagrely as scarcely to 
be described as clad : she turned away 
with a shrug of the shoulders, murmuring 
" Well, God be praised, it's fine summer 
clothing we have, any way." Once, 
— it was at Macroom, of which we have 
particularly spoken — among a group we 
noted a fair-haired girl. She might have 
been the study from which Mr. Harvey 
copied this picture ; and let no one 
think it idealized. We have seen many 
such, along every road we travelled ; 
perfect in form as a Grecian statue, and 
graceful as a young fawn. The hood 
of her cloak shrouded each side of her 
face ; and the folds draped her slender 
figure as if the nicest art had been 
exerted in aid of nature. There was 
something so sad, so shy, and yet so 
earnest, in her entreaty for " charity, for 
the love of God," that we should have 
at once bestowed it, had not a thin, pallid 
woman, whose manner was evidently 

superior to those around her, and whose " tatters " bore a character of " old de- 
cency," made her way through the crowd, and, struggling with excited feelings, 




116 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 






forced the girl from our side. Curious to ascertain the cause of this interference, 
we followed them, and learned it. " My name's Mac Sweeny," said the woman, 
somewhat proudly, after a few preliminary questions ; " and I am a lone widow, 
with five of these craythurs depending on my four bones. God knows 'tis hard 
I work for the bit and the sup to give them ; and 'tis poor we are, and always have 
been ; but none of my family ever took to the road or begged from any Christian 
— till this bad ghieen disgraced them." The mother was sobbing like a child, and 
so was her " girleen." " Mother," said the girl, " sure little Timsy was hungry, 
and the gentleman wouldn't miss it." Our car was waiting ; we had far to go that 
day, and we were compelled to leave the cabin without hearing what, we are sure, 
must have been a touching story ; but we left the widow less heart-broken than we 
foimd her. 

The beggars in the various towns have their distinctive characters, and they 
differ essentially from those who beg in the country. In the towns it is usually a 
" profession;" the same faces are always encountered in the same places; and 
they are very jealous of interlopers, unless good cause be shown for additions to 
" the craft." In Dublin they are exceedingly insolent and repulsive ; in Cork, 
merry and good-humoured, but most provokingly clamorous ; in Waterford, their 
petitions were preferred more by looks than words, and a refusal was at once 
taken; in Clonmel — we were there during a season of frightful want — they 
appeared to be too thoroughly depressed and heart-broken to utter even a sentence 
of appeal; in Killarney they seemed trusting to their utter wretchedness and 
filth of apparel, as a contrast to the surpassing grace and beauty of nature all 
around them, to extort charity from the visitors; and in Wicklow, where we 
encountered far fewer than we expected (ahvays excepting Glendalough), they 
laboiued to earn money by tendering something like advice as to the route that 
should be taken by those who were in search of the picturesque. One had followed 
a friend of ours, to his great annoyance, for upwards of a mile, and on bidding 
him good-bye, had the modesty to ask for a little sixpence. " For what ?" inquired 
the gentleman; "what have you done for me?" "Ah, then, sure haven't I been 
keeping yer honour in discoorse?" In the country, where passers-by are not 
numerous, the aged or bed-ridden beggar is frequently placed in a sort of hand- 
barrow, and laid at morning by the road-side, to excite compassion and procure 
alms: not unfrequently their business is conducted on the backs of donkeys; and 
often they are drawn about by some neighbour's child. 

Of late, indeed and within the last year or two especially, the evil of the 
beggars has very considerably diminished ; not that it is in reality less than it has 
ever been, but it does not so continually appear before the eye. The work-house 
affords a shelter to all of them, and those who refuse to " go in" are so greatly in 
dread of the constabulary, that they are far less bold than they used to be in 



THE WORKHOUSE AT KILLARNEY. 117 



addressing strangers; indeed, during our visit in 1850, we found so remarkable a 
change in this respect, as to have considered the propriety of erasing the preceding 
passages, altogether ; and although we permit them to remain, we give them 
rather as a history of the past, than as a picture of what the Tourist will actually 
have, now-a-days, to encounter. 

The workhouse at Killarney should be inspected by every visitor : it is at once 
a most painful and a most gratifying sight ; our visit was paid not on one of the 
public days, but the master courteously conducted us through it. The whole of 
the arrangements seemed to be as near perfection as they could be : the wards, the 
dormitories especially, were so clean and neat and well provided, that the most 
fastidious lady would hardly hesitate to dine in the one, or to sleep in the other ; 
the ventilation is admirable ; the clothing good ; the food wholesome and 
abundant ; and a sufficiency of employment is found in grinding flour, and in 
manufacturing the various articles used in the house. On leaving it, our only 
marvel was that any of the destitute poor remain out of it, to endure the want 
and misery of their own wretched hovels ; and it is only due to the master and 
matron of the Killarney workhouse to say that their general character for 
humanity, consideration, and good management in all respects, was fully borne out 
by the examination it was our task to institute. We hope that all persons 
intrusted with the care of the poor resemble them ; and that the collectors of the 
poor-rate also strive to render their duties as little repulsive as possible ; we had 
one example of a poor-rate collector which would lead us to fear for the many 
committed to his " tender mercies ;" but the other workhouses we have visited, 
induced a belief, that a generous sympathy, and a desire to ameliorate the condition 
of the poor, largely prevail in such establishments. 

Previous to the year 1838, there was no sort of provision for the destitute poor 
in Ireland ; the halt, the maimed, and the blind, the afflicted of all diseases, the 
aged, and the infant, were left entirely to private charity ; those who know 
Ireland, know that charity is there a fountain that is never dry ; among the poor it 
is considered as the most solemn and sacred of all duties, — next to that to God ! — 
superstition was called to the aid of nature, and to turn away the hungry, or 
refuse shelter to the houseless wanderer, was considered to evoke a curse under 
which no one could thrive. No worse a character could be given to any one than 
that " he was a hard man to the poor." But it was a disgrace to civilization that 
the highways and byeways were crowded with the destitute of all ages, of whom 
the state took no charge, and to whom the legislature had never given a thought. 
This evil exists no longer, and, although it is by no means our intention to canvass 
this subject in all its bearings, a subject very difficult, intricate, and upon which 
persons are much divided, — we must consider it as fruitful of benefits in- 
calculable to the Irish people. 



118 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



The natural love of independence, or rather, the aversion to restraint — for that 
expression better conveys our meaning — inherent in the Irish character, will always 
prevent the poor-houses from being over-full, except upon occasions such as that 
of almost annual occurrence, when a large proportion of the inhabitants of Ireland 
are without food. They have not yet learned to consider state provisions as 
a right — a right that has been earned by labour and contributions to state wealth, 
and we believe they will long continue to prefer the miserable hovels in which 
they dwell, and the wretched fare upon which they subsist, to the comforts of 
the workhouse. 

Let us now imagine the Tourist taking " his ease at his inn," called upon to 
determine how his time may be most pleasantly and most profitably expended. 
We shall endeavour to guide him in his resolve ; first supplying him with some 
information respecting the wonderful and most beautiful district in which he is for 
a time located. 

The Lakes of Killarney are three in number; the Lower Lake, the Upper 
Lake, and the Middle, or Torc, Lake. In reality, however, the three must be 
considered as one; for they are divided only by narrow channels, the passage 
between the lower and middle lakes being, indeed, only of a bridge's breadth.* 
They are situated in the centre of a range of lofty mountains, among which are 
Carran Tuel and Mangerton, the former the highest in Ireland. t The mountains 



* " The Lake consists of three distinct bodies of water : of these, the first, which is called the 
Upper Lake, lies embosomed amidst the mountains ; the others, situated at the exterior base of 
the chain, are bounded at one side alone by mountains; and in the opposite direction they open 
to a cultivated country, whose surface is diversified by innumerable hills. The two last divisions 
are nearly upon the same level, and He contiguous to each other, being separated merely by 
a narrow peninsula (Mucross) and some small islands (Brickeen and Dinas), between which 
there are channels passable for boats ; but the Upper Lake stands three miles distant, at the head 
of a navigable river, which flows through a romantic valley or defile (the Long Kange). Near 
the termination of its course this river divides into two branches, one of which flows peaceably 
into the Bay of Glena, on the Great or Lower Lake ; the other, forcing its way through a rocky 
channel, issues with considerable impetuosity into the Middle Lake, under the woods of Dinas 
Island." (Weld.) This river separates after passing the " Old Weir Bridge." 
f Heights of the principal mountains surrounding the Lakes : — 

Carran Tuel 3,414 feet. 

Mangerton 2,756 

Torc Mountain 1,764 

Eagle's Nest 1,103 

Devil's Punch Bowl 2,665 

Purple Mountain . . 2,739 

Toomies 2,500 

The Only mountains that actually rise from the Lake are Torc, Glena, and Toomies, — the Purple 
Mountain ascends behind the latter. Between Toomies and the water's edge there is a consi- 



THE ARBUTUS. 119 



that run directly from the water are dotted with evergreen tree-shrubs and magni- 
ficently grown forest trees, reaching from the base almost to the summit. This, 
indeed, forms one of the leading peculiarities of Killarney.* 

The Tourist, on approaching the Lakes, is at once struck by the singularity and 
the variety of the foliage in the woods that clothe the hills by which on all sides 
they are surrounded. The effect produced is novel, striking, and beautiful ; and is 
caused chiefly by the abundant mixture of the tree shrub {Arbutus Unedof) with 
the forest trees. The Arbutus grows in nearly all parts of Ireland ; but no where 
is it found of so large a size, or in such rich luxuriance, as at Killarney. The 
extreme western position, the mild and humid atmosphere, (for, in Ireland, there is 
fact as well as fancy in the poet's image, — 

" Thy suns with doubtful gleam 
Weep while they rise,") 

and the rarity of frosts, contribute to its propagation, and nurture it to an enor- 
mous growth, far surpassing that which it attains in any part of Great Britain ; 
although, even at Killarney, it is never of so great a size as it is found clothing the 
sides of Mount Athos. In Dinis Island there is a tree, the stem of which is seven 
feet in circumference, and its height is in proportion, being equal to that of 
an ash-tree of the same girth which stands near it. There are several others 
nearly as large, and we believe one or two still larger. Alone, its character is not 
picturesque : the branches are bare, long, gnarled, and crooked ; presenting in 
its wild state a remarkable contrast to its trim, formal, and bush-like figure in 
our cultivated gardens. Mingled with other trees, however, it is exceedingly 
beautiful ; its bright green leaves happily mixing with the light or dark drapery 
of its neighbours — the elm and the ash, or the holly and the yew, with which it is 
almost invariably intermixed. It strikes its roots apparently into the very rocks — 
thus filling up spaces that would otherwise be barren spots in the scenery. Its 



derable tract of fertile ground under cultivation. Mangerton and Carran Tuel are distant from 
Killarney, the former about three miles, and the latter about ten. 

* The autumn months are generally recommended for visiting Killarney, chiefly because the 
tints of foliage are then more varied ; but to our minds this attraction ill compensates for the 
shortness of the days. We have visited the Lakes at three different seasons — in April, in June, 
and in September. The Lakes may be seen to great advantage so early as May or June ; when, 
according to a common saying, Inisfallen is covered with snow — i. e. the hawthorns are in full 
bloom. This tree blooms most luxuriantly at Killarney, and grows to an amazing size. In the 
demesne of Lord Kenmare there is one tree of such prodigious growth, that we imagine five 
hundred men might stand under its branches. 

t Pliny says it is called " Unedo," because, having eaten one, you will never desire to eat 
another. It is said, however, that an agreeable wine is made from the berry in the south of 
Europe. 



120 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




beautiful berries, when arrived at maturity, are no doubt conveyed by the birds, 
who feed upon them, to the heights of inac- 
cessible mountains, where they readily vege- 
tate in situations almost destitute of soil.* 
Its most remarkable peculiarity is, that the 
flower (not unlike the lily of the valley) and 
the fruit — ripe and unripe — are found at the 
same time, together, on the same tree. The 
berry has an insipid though not an unpleasant 
taste, is nearly round, and resembles in colour 
the wood-strawberry ; whence its common 
name — the Strawberry-tree. It appears to 
the greatest advantage in October, when it is 
covered with a profusion of flowers in droop- 
ing clusters, and scarlet berries of the last 
year ; and when its gay green is strongly con- 
trasted with the brown and yellow tints which 
autumn has given to its neighbours. It is 
said that, although now found universally in 
Ireland, and more especially in the counties 
of Cork and Kerry, it is not a native of the 
soil, but was introduced into the country by Spanish monks, t 

Of the Arbutus wood a variety of toys are made at Killarney, for which there 
is considerable sale to visitors anxious to retain some palpable reminiscence of 
the beautiful place. The tourist will not have passed many hours at his inn 
before a fair messenger from one of the " arbutus factories" makes her appearance, 




THE ARBUTUS. 



* A worthy gentleman with whom we conversed, in reference to this peculiarity, committed a 
genuine bull : " If you go to Killarney, 'tis there you'll see Nature — the trees growing out of the 
solid rock." 

f On this point, however, botanists are much divided in opinion. We have had opportunities 
of consulting two of the most eminent in Ireland. By one we are told, " There is not the least 
doubt of its being truly indigenous ; for it is found growing on the wild declivities of Glengariff, 
and bordering many of the little mountain loughs in the remote parts of Kerry, which still 
remain in a state of almost primitive nature." By the other we are informed, " Touching the 
Arbutus, my opinion is, that although now growing spontaneously around Killarney, particularly 
on limestone, and what is termed red talcose slate, yet I am inclined to think it not strictly 
a native, but introduced from Spain by the monks. Inisfallen in the sixth century was a place 
of great wealth ; numerous and valuable presents were constantly contributed to it ; and the 
stranger monks procured from their own countries whatever would prove useful, either medi- 
cinally, culinary, or ornamental. Consequently, some of our rarest plants are found in the 
vicinity of these religious buildings." 



ARBUTUS WOOD. 



121 



and with winning looks and wiling words endeavours to effect sales from the full 
basket she carries with her. The Arbutus wood — and, very surely, the wood of 
other trees, such as the yew, the holly, and, above all, the bog-oak — has been con- 
verted by the craftsman into a vast variety of items — card-cases, needle-boxes, 
paper-cutters, silk-winders, and so forth; and sometimes into objects of magni- 
tude — such as tables, writing-desks, and work-boxes. They are manufactured with 
considerable skill and neatness, and are very pretty specimens of the various woods 
produced in the neighbourhood, — which it would be a serious reproach to any 
tourist to leave without having procured a few of these indubitable proofs that he 
has been where Nature has made a garden of her own for her own self.* 

The charm of Killarney lakes, however, does not consist in the varied graces of 
foliage, the grandeur of encompassing mountains, the number of green or rocky 
islands, the singularly fantastic character of the island-rocks, the delicate elegance 
of the shores, the perpetual occurrence of bays ; but in the wonderful variety pro- 
duced by the combination of their attractions, which, together, give to the scenery 
a character inconceivably fascinating — such as the pen and pencil are utterly 
incompetent to describe. The shadows from the mountains, perpetually changing, 
produce a variety of which there can be no adequate conception ; insomuch that 
the very same spot shall present a different aspect twenty times within a day. 
Assuredly, they far surpass in natural beauty aught that nature has supplied else- 
where in Great Britain ; for, with scarcely an exception, the devoted worshippers 
of Loch Katrine, and the fervid admirers of the northern English lakes, have 
yielded the palm to those of Killarney ; some, however, having qualified the praise 
they bestow upon " the pride of Ireland," by admitting only that " the three lakes, 
considered as one — which they may naturally be, lying so close to each other — 
are, together, more important than any one of the lakes of Cumberland and West- 
moreland." t A glance at the map will show, as we have intimated, that the three 

* The tourist, however, ought to receive a hint that he will be expected to pay for these pretty 
things in proportion to the assumed length of his purse ; and that if it be not a very long one, 
he will do well to hesitate before he agrees to the prices first asked. There are three or four 
establishments in Killarney for the sale of these toys. The principal is that which Mr. Egan con- 
ducts: he gives employment during the whole year to fifteen or sixteen hands, and has always a 
large supply ready for the choice of the tourist ; manufacturing not only articles in arbutus and 
yew, but of the black oak, found so frequently in the Irish bogs. Mrs. Neate, who formerly 
carried on the chief trade in these objects, has removed to Dublin, and has been succeeded 
by her daughter, Mrs. Cremin. 

f Such is the admission of Mr. "Wordsworth in a letter we had the honour to receive from him 
on the subject ; and he adds, " I have more than once expressed an opinion that the county of 
Kerry, so nobly indented with bays of the Atlantic Ocean, and possessing a climate so favourable 
for vegetation, along with its mountains and inland waters, might without injustice be pro- 
nounced in point of scenery the finest portion of the British Islands." Sir David Wilkie, writing 

I 



122 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



are separated but by very narrow channels ; and that two of them have scarcely any 
perceptible division. They have, nevertheless, very distinctive characteristics : the 
Lower Lake is studded with islands, nearly all being richly clothed with evergreens ; 
the Upper Lake is remarkable for its wild magnificence, the mountains completely 
enclosing it ; and the Middle Lake is conspicuous for a happy mingling of both — 
not inferior to the one in grace and beauty, or to the other in majestic grandeur. 

The romantic beauties of the Killarney lakes were celebrated ages ago; in a 
very ancient poem they are classed as " the tenth wonder " of Ireland. The Irish 
name is Loch Lene — "the Lake of Learning," according to some authorities — 
a name by which it is still recognised among the peasantry, and which it is 
presumed to have derived from the number of " bookish monks " by whom its 
monasteries of Inisf alien, Mucross, and Aghadoe were at one time crowded.* The 
lakes are formed and supplied by numerous minor lakes that exist in the sur- 
rounding mountains, and may be described as an immense reservoir for the several 
rivers that also flow into them, having received on their way the waters of 
innumerable tributary streams. The only outlet for the waters thus collected is 
the narrow and rapid river Laune, — a channel along which they proceed to the 
Atlantic through the beautiful bay of Dingle. The origin of these lakes — covering 
an extensive valley — is, therefore, self-evident ; but fiction has assigned to them 
one of a far less obvious nature ; for, as will be readily supposed, the scene is full 
of wild legends and marvellous traditions, harmonising with the poetical character 
of the locality. 

The legends which account for the existence of the lakes vary in some respects ; 
but all have one common source — the neglecting to close the entrance to an 
enchanted fountain, which caused an inundation, and covered, in a single night, 
fair and fertile fields, and houses and palaces, with water. One of them attributes 
the misfortune to the daring impiety of an O'Donoghue, who, full of scepticism 
and wine, scorned the tradition which doomed to destruction the person who 
should displace the stone over the well-head, and resolved to expose its falsity by 

in 1835, the year of his visit, refers to " the three lakes, that for beauty and grandeur I have 
never seen surpassed :" and we have the authority of Miss Edgeworth for saying that Sir Walter 
Scott " considered the Upper Lake the grandest sight he had ever seen — except Loch Lomond." 
Spillane (the bugler), who was in the boat with the memorable party, told us that Sir Walter Scott 
appeared ill ; scarcely made a remark the whole day ; and expressed his admiration only once — 
when the boat was close to Dinas Island, where the waters of the three lakes meet; then 
he exclaimed, " Ah, this is beautiful ! " 

* Concerning the signification of the word " Lene," etymologists are far from agreeing. By 
many it is conjectured to refer to the ancient learned repute of the religious house at Inisfallen ; 
but Sir William Betham thinks the word " Lean " signifies a swampy plain, and that the lake 
was so called as being on the borders of a swamp, which a large portion of the north shore 
undoubtedly is. — Windele. 



ORIGIN OF THE LAKES REAL AND FABULOUS. 123 



removing it to his castle : his subjects, with whom his word was law, awaited the 
result in fear and trembling — all but his favourite jester, who fled to the summit 
of a neighbouring mountain. When the morning sun broke, he looked down into 
the valley, and saw nothing but a broad sheet of water. Another legend throws 
the responsibility of the awful event on a fair young peasant girl, who was wont 
to meet her lover — a stranger ignorant of the mystic spell — by the fountain-side : 
one night they were lulled to sleep by the music of its flow ; at daybreak the girl 
awoke screaming " The well ! the well ! " It was too late ; the water was rushing 
forth, and overtook them as they ran. They were drowned, and involved in their 
fate the inhabitants of the whole district. 

The legends all agree, however, that the men and women who then peopled the 
lovely valley did not perish, but still exist beneath the lake ; where the O'Donoghue 
continues to lord it over his people, living in his gorgeous palace, surrounded by 
faithful friends and devoted followers, and enjoying the delights of feasting, 
dancing, and music, as fully as he did upon the dry land. Many a time and oft, 
as by the banks of the lake 

" The fisherman strays 

When the clear cold eve 's declining, 

He sees the round towers of other days 

In the wave beneath him shining." 

The lakes are understood to be thirty miles in circumference ; the distance 
between the two extreme points — the entrance to the river Laune and the extreme 
end of the Upper Lake — being about eleven miles (including the " Long Range," 
about three miles), the greatest width being about two miles and a half. In the 
Upper Lake there are several islands, but none of large size : in Tore Lake there 
are only two, and they are small ; while the Lower Lake contains, of islands and 
island-rocks, upwards of thirty.* 

The principal river which supplies the lakes — the Flesk — rises in the mountain, 
and enters the Lower Lake at Cahirnane : contributions to its waters are made also 
by the Deenagh and several tributary mountain streams ; the principal of which are 
those from the Devil's Punch Bowl in Mangerton, forming in its progress the Tore 
Waterfall ; that from the summit of Glena, which forms O'Sullivan's Cascade ; 

* The exact length and breadth of the three lakes are as follows : — 

Length of Lower Lake 5f miles English. 

Greatest Breadth 2§ 

Length of Tore Lake 1-| 

Greatest Breadth £ 

Length of Upper Lake 2| 

Greatest Breadth | 

This statement, although it differs much from former estimates, and very largely from the 
popular notion, may be relied upon as perfectly accurate. 

i 2 



124 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



and that from the mountain, which forms the Cascade of Derricunnihy. A huge 
supply is also contributed by the river that flows through the Black Valley, and 
enters at the extreme end of the Upper Lake. 

These points we merely glance at, in commencing our tour • but each and all of 
them, being leading objects of interest and attraction, w T e shall be called upon 
more minutely to describe, when arranged under the "heads" to which they 
properly belong. 

Let us, then, arrange the mode in which the Tourist can best divide his time, 
so as to see all he ought to see, and that to the best advantage. We shall first 
express a hope that his visit to Killarney will not be a hurried one, — to see, 
merely that he may say he " has seen/' the greatest of the many natural beauties 
of Ireland. He may, indeed, have a vague notion that it is a very wonderful and 
a very beautiful place, by rushing through Dunloe Gap, and rowing from point to 
point of the Lakes, upper and lower; and there are tourists in abundance who 
have given themselves no longer time to do the subject justice.* But if he desire 
to receive enjoyment inconceivably fresh and powerful, and to estimate really and 
truly the vast beauty and mighty magnificence of the locality, his stay must be 
prolonged to at least a week. A week will enable him to examine the whole 
scene fully and justly; but it is necessary to add, that time much more prolonged 
may be profitably expended; that every day will exhibit some new feature; and it 
is certain that the more the lakes are examined, the more they will gratify and the 
more they will astonish. 

The plan we propose is to devote five days to the lakes ; and we shall draw 
out what we conceive to be the best order of proceeding — premising, however, that 

* Unhappily, Sir Walter Scott was one of these. His stay in Killarney was not extended 
beyond a day, consequently he could have had no conception of the vast store of grandeur and 
beauty which a sojourn of a week might have opened to him. The lakes, therefore, have 
profited little by his rapid row over their surface. There is a rumour that Sir Walter left 
Killarney suddenly, in consequence of the uncourteous refusal of a gentleman in the neighbour- 
hood to entertain him with a " stag hunt "—on the ground of political differences. Mr. Lockhart, 
indeed, in his " Memoirs of Scott," by some singular mistake, gives currency to the opinion — 
so discreditable to Irish courtesy, and so opposed to the almost constitutional bias of Irish 
gentlemen. We felt convinced that so humiliating a circumstance never occurred, and took 
some pains to be enabled to set the matter right. The rumour, although very general, is without 
the slightest foundation. Miss Edgeworth, who accompanied Sir Walter to Killarney, writes us, 
that " their party did not visit Killarney expecting a stag hunt ; on the contrary, before they 
arrived there, they heard on their progress that the master of the hounds had just died. And," 
she adds, " before any one knew we had arrived, we were gone ; for Sir Walter was so tied to 
time, that we could not remain another day." Miss Edgeworth's memory of the circumstance 
is borne out by that of her sister, who writes us, " 1 remember being told, as we drove into 
Killarney, that we should have no stag hunt, as the master of' the hounds had died that 
morning." We hope this slander against Irish hospitality will not again occur. 



THE GUIDES. 125 



much may be seen in one day, a good deal in two days, nearly every prime 
object of interest in three days, the whole in four days ; and the whole, with 
the addition of several striking matters in the neighbourhood, in five days. This 
five days' tour, then, we shall take the visitor, appending such hints as may be 
requisite for the benefit of those who can dedicate to the purpose only days one, 
two, three, or four.* 

First Day. — The Kenmare Koad ; Lough-Luis-ca-nagh ; Upper Lake ; 

Derrycunnihy Waterfall ; Torc Waterfall ; Demesne 

of Mucross ; Dinas Island ; Mucross Abbey. 
Second Day. — The Ascent of Carran Tuel, or Mangerton. 
Third Day. — Aghadoe ; Gap of Dunloe ; Brandon's Cottage ; the Upper 

Lake • Long Range ; Eagle's Nest ; Weir Bridge ; Torc 

Lake ; Lower Lake ; Glena. 
Fourth Day. — The Islands and the Shores of the Lower Lake. 
Fifth Day. — Objects of Minor Importance in the Vicinity of the Lakes* 

various Views, &c. <fcc. 

Our plan is to visit and examine the beautiful and interesting objects around the 
lakes ; to point out those which ought to be seen, and to indicate those that may 
be seen if time will sanction a proper scrutiny. 

A primary and a very necessary step, however, for those who desire to see the 
lakes in perfection, and to comprehend their beauties thoroughly, will be the 
selection of a guide ; — up Mangerton or Carran Tuel, and through Dunloe Gap, 
indeed, his aid is absolutely essential ; for, without it, the Tourist would not only 
be in danger of losing his way, but would be subjected to many annoyances from 
which the forethought of a guide will relieve him. Upon this subject we ask 
awhile the patience of our readers. 

Irish guides are, as our readers will imagine, the most amusing fellows in the 
world ; always ready to do any thing, explain any matter, go any where ; for if the 
Tourist proposes a trip to the moon, the guide will undertake to lead the way — 
" Bedad he will, wid all de pleasure in life." They are invariably heart-anxious 
to please ; sparing no personal exertion ; enduring willingly the extreme of fatigue ; 
carrying as much luggage as a pack-horse ; familiar, but not intrusive ; never out 

* It will be obvious, however, that to lay down a route that will answer in all cases is quite 
out of the question; it must be so continually influenced by circumstances, especially by the 
state of the weather. Our own plan satisfies us better than any other,— and we obtained seyeral 
from competent guides. When the Tourist has determined the length of time he will give to 
pleasure, he will do well to consult the landlord of the hotel, and arrange with the guide, how 
that time may be best turned to account. It is obvious that much may be done from sunrise to 
twilight of a summer-day. 



1-6 A WEEK AT KILLAENEY. 



of temper ; never wearied of either walking or talking ; and generally full of 
humour. They enliven the dreariest road by their wit, and are, of course, rich in 
old stories ; some they hear, others they coin, and, occasionally, make a strange 
hodge-podge of history — working a volume of wonders out of a solitary fact. If 
they sometimes exact more than is in " the bond," they do it with irresistible 
suavity. The guides of all countries extort ; the Irish guide does so only by — 
" laving it to your honour." 

But our especial business, now, is with the Killarney guides, and truly their 
name is " Legion ;" every child, boy or girl, from the time it is able to crawl over 
the door-step, seems to have a strong natural instinct to become a guide — to 
climb, or rather trot up, Mangerton, and round the Devil's Punch Bowl ; or, what is 
still worse for the traveller, disturb the solemnity of the Eagle's Nest, when it 
reverberates to Spillane's bugle, by the piping treble of their importunities that 
you will drink goat's milk, taste poteen, or eat wild strawberries. 

Immediately on our arrival, we proceeded to appoint our " body-guard ;" and, 
our purpose being known, a score of candidates for the anticipated honour and 
emolument presented themselves, chattering eagerly outside the gate of the garden 
of our hotel. They were, as we found invariably, of all sizes and ages — eager to 
display their accomplishments, and set themselves off to the best advantage. We 
had, however, instituted very minute inquiries as to the qualifications of the several 
candidates we were likely to encounter ; and, in reality, our choice was already 
made. Common politeness, nevertheless, compelled us to ask a few questions 
before our determination was made known. Each by turns came forward to state 
his claims, exhibit his testimonials, and assure us that he above all the rest was the 
guide especially provided for us by good fortune. Our scrunity ended by the 
appointment of three : — Sir Richard Courtenay, " Knight of Mangerton," as 
commander-in-chief; Edward Dumas, a most kind, considerate, and attentive 
fellow — with but one arm ; and John Lyons, " the Captain of Mangerton." By 
what means the latter worthy obtained his commission, we cannot say ■ but the 
gallant knight — who, like his great prototype, is " sans peur et sans reproche" — had 
once the honour of conducting a Viceroy to the top of the far-famed mountain, 
where the peer and the peasant being both literally " in the clouds," the latter, at 
least, descended to mid-earth a much more important personage than he was when 
he commenced the ascent — and ever since with plain Richard Courtenay it has been 

" Good den, Sir Richard." 

As our readers will have other opportunities for making acquaintance with the 
intellectual capabilities of this 

" The finest guide that ever you see, 
Who knows every place of curosity " — 



THE GUIDES. 



127 



we shall for the present limit our description to his personal appearance ; first 
giving his " veritable portraiture," 
carrying the portfolio of Mr 
R. D. Tongue — the artist — by 
whom he has been accurately 
pictured. Note his peculiar hat 
— not quite a " caubeen," al- 
though the mountain blasts have 
materially changed its shape 
since it was " a bran-new bea- 
ver;" his small keen grey eyes; 
his " loose " good-natured mouth 
— that pours forth in abundance 
courteous, if not courtly phrases, 
and pronounces scraps of French 
with the true pronunciation of 
an actual native — of Kerry ; for 
Sir Richard, having mixed in 
good society, " parley-voos " as 
well as bows with the grace of a 
travelled gentleman. His coat 
was certainly not made by a 
Stulz, nor his brogue by a Hoby ; 
but the frieze suits well with 
his healthy and sunburnt coun- 
tenance, and the shoes are a fit- 
ting match for limbs that have 
. borne him a thousand times up 
the steep and high mountain of 
Mangerton. 

Such was Sir Richard Courtenay when we made his acquaintance in 1840. In 
1843 we found him somewhat altered — not quite so constitutionally strong as he 
had been, but by no means less kind, " courtly," or considerate. 

In 1850/ Sir Richard exhibited still more the effects of years and illness : and he 
is now unable to ascend Mangerton, unless by the wise generosity of the tourist a 
pony is provided for him ; but the cost of this accommodation will not be thrown 
away ; for his abundant store of " legends," will be opened ; and lucky will be 
the tourist who secures his services. Dumas is still " to the fore " at Cloghreen ; 
and Lyons may be found by all who inquire for him. The times have pressed heavily 
on this poor fellow ; the " sickness" deprived him of all his children; poverty was 




THE GUIDE, SIR RICHARD. 



1-tS A WEEK AT KliiLARNEY. 



added to his other griefs ; and those who engage him will not alone have a most 
attentive guide, but perform a service that will be " twice blessed." 

In 1850, however, as we have intimated, some changes had taken place — in this 
respect also — at Killarney. The guide for whom all parties now inquire, — and 
ought to inquire, — is Stephen Spillane, (the son of the long famous bugler). Stephen 
is better fitted for the new, than he would have been for the old, order of things ; 
for he is of new, rather than of old, Ireland ; a young man of good education, a 
teetotaller, and although quite as courteous and actively obliging as his pre- 
decessors, he is acquainted with none of the " tricks " which, it must be 
confessed, have given then renown to Irish guides. He is a good angler, plays 
a bugle second only to his father, and in addition to being exceedingly well 
read in the history of the district, he is familiar with all the legends concerning 
which the Tourist should be anxious to hear. We consider, indeed, that Stephen 
Spillane is an acquisition to Killarney ; and rejoice that, if the fun and frolic and 
" rollicking " of the guide is daily becoming more and more a matter of history, in 
their successors we find greater intelligence supplying the place of wit ; and at least 
as much civility, attention and zeal. John Spillane, the brother of Stephen, we 
may commend nearly as much ; and Miles Mac Sweeny, another of the guides, at 
the Victoria, will be found an auxiliary most desirable. The whole of the guides at 
the Victoria are, indeed — like all else connected with this excellent establishment, 
— such as may be entirely depended upon for all the qualities that can enlighten 
and " accommodate " the visitor. 




W 'It 



THE FIRST DAY'S TOUR. 

LOUGH LUIS-CA-NAGH \ UPPER LAKE ', DERRICUNNIHY 
WATERFALL \ TORC WATERFALL \ MUCROSS DEMESNE } 
MUCROSS ABBEY. 



Our plan of procedure has been arranged chiefly, but by no means exclusively, 
to meet the convenience of Tourists who visit Killarney by way of Glengariff ; 
inasmuch as, if the time of the visitor be limited, the whole of the objects em- 
braced in our first day's tour may be examined en route ; to do so will require 
some exertion, if the previous night has been passed at Glengariff, but none at all 
if Kenmare has been his place of rest ; for " the Lakes " may be said to com- 
mence midway between that town and Killarney. Midway, therefore, — that is to 
say, just ten miles from either town, — we shall place the Tourist ; making it our 
starting point, and directing him to drive to it, either from the Herbert Arms or 
the Victoria, if the district has been entered by another route ; it will be observed, 



130 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



however, that he will then have the disadvantage of turning his back on the Lakes ; 
which he will avoid if he joumies towards them from Kenmare. 

Just at the place we refer to is a small lake — Lough Luis-ca-nagh. It lies in a 
little valle} 7 , through which the road runs. It is without trees, and almost without 
underwood ; denuded even of the broom, the bramble, and the furze ; indeed, all the 
minor lakes about Kerry have the same barren and naked character. Scarcely is it 
passed, however, and a small steep ascended, when the glory of the Upper Lake 
bursts upon us. The spectator is startled by the sudden prospect to which a few 
steps introduce him; he is totally unprepared for the wonderful sublimity of the 
scene — taken in almost at a glance. He stands on the summit of a lofty hill — yet a 
mole-hill compared to the mountains that surround him ; below, winding about the 
valley, is " the Upper Lake," so narrow and tortuous, and so diminished by distance, 
that at first sight it seems nothing more than one of its tributary rivers. Far away, 
between Tore and Glena, which from this point appear to jut out, and assume the 
aspect of supporters to vast, but ever open, gates, a glimpse is caught of the Lower 
Lake, and of the hill crowned by a modern castle, that looks down upon its Eastern 
border. Immediately pushing out, as it were, before us, on our path, is " the 
drooping mountain " — Cromagloun — the most rough and rugged of all the 
guardians of the Lakes. To the left are the mountains — outskirts of the eternal 
Reeks — that shut in Dunloe Gap. The whole of the Upper Lake is fully and 
amply seen; the eye traces the twisting channel, — " the Long Range," — that 
connects it with its sister Lakes; numbers of small islets are scattered about its 
surface ;* and in the far-off glimpse of a broad sheet of water — the Lower Lake — 
we obtain the foretaste of a banquet — abundant, healthful and delicious. But if 
the Upper Lake, — considered as a Lake, merely — is calculated, as we think it is, to 
disappoint at first, it is grand beyond conception, and certainly far surpasses its 
more beautiful sisters in the wild magnificence and stern sublimity of Nature. From 
the point we are describing, this peculiar characteristic is not perhaps so striking 
as it will be when we descend more into the valley. And let us descend : — presently 
we reach " the Constabulary Barrack," from a spot adjacent to which there is 
another glorious view. We have been watching, from the height, the road that 
runs past it, and have marvelled how it can convey us down the steep : tracing it 
closely, however, we perceive that -it travels round two or three jutting rocks, 

* These islets we shall notice more particularly when rowing through the Upper Lake. It may 
be proper here to mention that the advantage of a guide at this spot is incalculable. During our 
first visit we were without one, and passed within a few yards of the most magnificent views 
presented by the locality, without seeing one of them. Indeed, there is one particular spot — a 
mile or so from Luis-ca-nagh— where a small rock pushes up a little above the road ; unhappy 
will be the tourist who does not stop here ! Just at the other side of this rock, turning a mere 
corner, perhaps the finest view in the whole district is to be obtained. 



DERRICUNN1HY CASCADE. — THE MOUNTAINS. 131 



covered with the richest foliage ; a peep at it may be had every now and then ; at 
length it is seen, deeply below, skirting the borders of the Lough. We shall reach 
it anon, and be on level ground ; but not until we have made at least a score of 
pauses, sprang as often off and on the car, and mounted some tiny hillock to feast 
upon the prospect once again. We reach the Tunnel at length ; and the mountain 
is at our back. We shall have to climb no other while this day lasts. Here we 
are in the centre of Beauty's attractions only ; the road is overhung by huge rocks ; 
but each of them is richly clothed — some with huge forest trees, others with the 
lighter and gayer arbutus ; while, at the bases of all, spring up gigantic weeds in 
marvellous luxuriance, fed perpetually by the clear water that oozes through every 
crevice, forming here and there miniature cataracts, bearing down tiny pebbles to 
deposit by the road side. So, on we go — now and then peeping, through breaks in 
the foliage, at the bleak hills opposite, and occasionally crossing a bridge, under 
which rushes a rapid river. One of them, on its way into the lake, forms the 
Cascade of Derricunnihy; and this the Tourist must delay to visit. A bye road of 
about a quarter of a mile leads to it. We soon hear its roar, and ere long mark its 
foam ascending above the trees. It is beautiful — very beautiful — and its beauty is 
enhanced by the charming character of the locality in which it is placed. A little 
rustic bridge crosses the narrow river, and leads to a cultivated garden, where a 
cottage — Hyde's Cottage — formerly stood. The cottage is gone, but the garden 
remains ; and never have we seen shrubs of finer growth. The Rhododendrons 
have mounted almost into forest trees, and were literally covered with giant blossoms. 
A tangled path, overshadowed by the arbutus, holly, yew, and hazel, leads to the 
cascade. It is inferior to that of Tore, which we are now approaching ; and we 
leave it, therefore, undescribed. 

A short distance farther, and we reach the entrance to the long and narrow 
promontory, called " Coleman's Eye," — a promontory, which, stretching out into 
the lake, compresses it, and produces the channel known as the Long Range. At 
some convenient place in this vicinity, let the traveller stop and look back. A 
rude diagram (see p. 132) may convey some idea of the locality in which it stands. 

No fewer than twelve of the mountains are within ken, — he may see the summits 
of them all by merely looking right and left, over his shoulder. Perhaps it would 
be difficult to, find, in the whole district, a single spot that can furnish so grand and 
accurate an idea of the peculiarities of Killarney. 

The road is continued just above the lake ; but the lake is hidden, now and 
then, by intervening trees, and thick masses of underwood ; at length, we are 
opposite the " Eagle's Nest," — a craggy rock from this point of view ; we shall see 
it better when rowing through the Long Range. 

A mile or so, and we reach a small mountain rivulet, trickling down the sides 
of the natural wall, that makes the land boundary of the road ; the lakes and 



132 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 




Drooping 
Mountain 



Back of 

Eagle's Ne.^t 



KILLARNEY MOUNTAINS. 



their connecting river form it on the other side. This streamlet is " the Lene," 
said (upon what evidence we cannot tell) to have given, in days of old, a name to 
the Great Lake. To point out all the scenic beauties that occur along this course 
is out of the question. This must be the task of the Guide. He will not hurry 
you, if you let him have his own way— as you will do, if you are wise. Once at 
least in every furlong you will have to stop, and gaze either upon some distant 
object, or some beauty close within your ken ; noting where the ancient denizens 
of the woods and forests — the oak, and yew, and holly of centuries old, — are mingled 
with the young growths of yesterday. 

At length we arrive at the Tore waterfall — the most famous and beyond com- 
parison the most grand and beautiful of all the cascades about the Lakes. It stands 
close to " the Lodge," in the demesne of Mr. Herbert. 

The cascade is a chasm between the mountains of Tore and Mangerton : the fall 
is between sixty and seventy feet. The path that leads to it by the side of the 
rushing and brawling current, which conducts it to the lake, has been judiciously 
curved so as to conceal a full view of the fall until the visitor is immediately under 
it ; but the opposite hill has been beautifully planted — Art having been summoned 
to the aid of Nature — and the tall young trees are blended with the ever- 




/> Y,,/j,y/,/- 






TORC WATERFALL. — MUCROSS DEMESNE. 



133 




green arbutus, the holly, and a vast variety of shrubs. As we advance, the 

rush of waters gradually breaks upon the ear, and at a sudden turning the cataract 

is beheld in all its glory. And most glorious, in truth, it is, seen under any 

circumstances ; — even in the most arid 

season it is beautiful — the white foam 

breaking over huge rocks, casting the spray 

to inconceivable distances ; rushing and 

brawling along its course into the valley; 

scattering its influences among the long 

green ferns, and giving such prodigious 

vigour to the wild vegetation it nourishes? 

that giant weeds thicken into underwood 

along its banks, and here and there meet 

and join across the stream. 

In the hot summer time this waterfall is 
indeed beautiful ; but in winter — or in win- 
ter weather, — its magnificence can scarcely 
be pictured by the imagination. Let not 
the reader think this poor print can do it. 
It conveys about as much idea of the grace 
and grandeur of Tore Waterfall as a single 
feather can do of the form and plumage of a bird of Paradise. The water 
descends in a broad sheet, and the first fall is of considerable width : the passage 
is then narrowed, and another fall occurs ; then follow a succession of falls ; all 
rushing and foaming against the mountain sides ; and, indeed, almost from the base 
of the great fall until it reaches Tore Lake, the river goes leaping from one rock 
to another. Sitting by its side it requires no great stretch of fancy to believe it a 
living thing. 

Leaving the waterfall, we resume our journey, and soon reach the pretty village 
of Cloghreen. Mr. Weld described it, in 1812, as "a decayed village." It has, 
we are happy to say, got rid of this character. Roche's Hotel has brought it 
business, and a business look. A very elegant little building — the village-school 
— has been erected here, at the expense of the Herbert family. The shops and 
cottages about are all neatly built and well ordered. Behind it is a pretty Lough, 
out of which a clear streams runs, and flows into the Lower Lake. On a height 
immediately above the village is the little church of Killaghie — we believe the 
smallest church in the kingdom (see p. 134). In its construction it is very 
simple ; and is obviously, with the exception of its tower, of remote antiquity. 
Wild flowers, of various hues, grow from the walls, and adorn its roof of stone. 
From this spot an extensive and most attractive view may be obtained. Indeed 



TORC WATERFALL. 



134 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



it is one of the favoured places from which to gain a prospect of the Tore and 
Lower Lakes. 




s^Mm^S 



KILLAGHIE CHURCH. 



At the village of Cloghreen, then, we rest awhile — if our home, for a season, is 
to be Roche's Hotel; if we are proceeding farther, the entrance-gate to Mr. 
Herbert's demesne is close to us. Through this gate we must pass. 

But before we visit " the Abbey," let us take a ramble through the demesne ; 
half riding and half walking ■ for the Tourist will have little notion of the distance 
he has yet to travel, before the day's work is done, — a very long distance it will be : 
although, being now within the demesne, he is not again to leave it.* 

A visit to the Abbey may be postponed for an hour or two. It will be im- 
proved when the evening shades are over it ; the sunlight is in ill-keeping with 
its sombre character. On, then, we go, leaving Mucross to the right, driving 
nearly in the middle of the narrow promontory that separates the Lower Lake 
from Tore Lake t, and making our way over Brickeen Bridge into Dinis Island. 



* From the gate at Mucross through the demesne, passing over Brickeen Bridge, through 
Dinis Island, out again upon the main road, again by Tore Waterfall, and return to Cloghreen 
— during which the demesne has not been quitted — is exactly ten English miles. But, as we 
shall show, if the Tourist examines — as surely he ought to do — the beauties of two most beau- 
tiful " walks," the distance will be increased by at least three miles. 

t Tore Lake derives its name from the Irish Tore, "a wild boar;" and Mucross, from "the 
pleasant place of wild swine." Dinis is derived from Dine-iske, " the beginning of the water," 
and Brickeen from Bric-in, "the place of small trout." 



BRICKEEN BRIDGE. THE ROCK WALK. 



135 



The Tourist, then, will enter at Mucross gate — open to visitors every day except 
Sunday* — and proceed along "the drive," by which Mr. Herbert, with admirable 
taste, has girdled his beautiful lake. A poet might liken it to a huge diamond 
encircled by emeralds ; and surely, in three broad kingdoms, for its extent (ten 
English miles) there is nothing to surpass it. Immediately after entering, the 
Abbey to the right, and the deep woodland on the left, are so close and sheltered, 
that you are unprepared for the alternating views of mountain and water presented 
at every turn. 

The peninsula— which runs out in 
a line with the Abbey — divides the 
two lakes : on the right, glimpses are 
perpetually caught of the Lower Lake 
while on the left the prettiest parts of 
Tore have been skilfully brought into 
view ; the mountains, distant and 
near, overhanging all. Passing the 
" old mines" (marked on the map), 
and the small Lough Doolagh, the 
road runs over Brickeen Bridge, a 
bridge of a single arch, connecting 
the peninsula with Brickeen Island ; 

continuing through this island, another bridge connects it with Dinis Island. 
Mr. Herbert has built 
a pretty, picturesque, 
and commodious cot- 
tage, for the gratuitous 
use of visitors. It is 
furnished with every 
requisite for their en- 
tertainment ; and the 
housekeeper, a most 
attentive and obliging- 
person, is ready with 
her friendly greeting 
and willing service to 
those who may require 
her attendance ; a turf 
fire being always pre- 




BBICKEEN BRIDGE. 



Here 




COTTAGE IN DIKIS ISLAND. 



Visitors may, however, walk in the demesne on Sunday. 



136 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



pared for that necessary portion of an Irish feast — the potatoes ; and moreover, 
with "arbutus skewers," to aid in producing a luxury that may give a new 
pleasure to the most refined epicure — the salmon sliced and roasted, within 
a few minutes after he has been a free denizen of the lake. 

Once more a bridge is crossed — a bridge from Dinis Island across the channel 
that runs from the Long Range into Tore Lake, — and the visitor is again on 
the mainland. Here a small bye-road conducts to the high road ; and he is again 
on what is technically termed " the new line" — i. e. the line between Kenmare 
and Killarney. But still the drive is continued through the demesne, for parts 
of it lie on the other side of the public road, and run up the sides of old Tore 
mountain, further than the most enterprising pedestrian will be willing to explore ; 
for the underwood is so thickly matted, that it presents an effectual barrier ; 
the rocks jut out so as to form continual lines of inaccessible precipices ; and the 
red deer are not to be disturbed with impunity among their fastnesses, into which 
entrance is very rarely effected without considerable peril. By the time he 
returns to the entrance-gate at Cloghereen, the Tourist will thus have driven ten 
miles — encircling a demesne that assuredly cannot have its equal in the dominions 
of the Queen. But let him not imagine that this drive will show him all he has 
to see, — very far from it. To the most charming of its beauties, neither car nor 
horse can conduct him. Immediately under the Abbey grave-yard is a walk called 
the " Lady's Walk," which leads just above the borders of the Lower Lake. You 
may follow it on for two or three miles, and you cannot be wearied ; for seats are 
placed at proper intervals, and the mind will be perpetually refreshed. Above the 
borders of Tore Lake, also, there is another walk — "the Rock Walk" — of still 
greater beauty. It extends for nearly two miles, and may indeed be continued 
to Brickeen Bridge, and so into the island of Dinis. These walks are absolutely 
delicious. It is impossible for any description to do them justice. Nature 
formed them ; but Art and Taste have combined to render them perfect. 
Let the Tourist take especial care that the guide under whose guardianship 
he visits Mucross leads him to them.* With Sir Richard he is safe; — for 
the knight is as proud of the grounds as if he were their actual master. 
Close to the Tore Waterfall has been found the rarest of British ferns — the 
Bristle Fern (Trichomanes speciosum). It is peculiar to Ireland, and has not 
hitherto been discovered either in England, Scotland, or Wales. It is described 



* The reader will — by this time — have some idea that, though Mucross, Tore, and the 
half-score other places named in this day's tour, may be looked at in a day, the demesne of 
Mucross alone will demand a full day, and give ample occupation and abundant enjoyment 
between sunrise and sunset. 



MUCROSS ABBEY. 



137 



by Edward Newman, Esq. F.L.S., in his elegant and interesting "History of 
British Ferns." 

And now let us return to the Abbey — for the shades of night will, no doubt, 
be setting in ; and that is the time to visit it. Lucky indeed will you be if the 
moon is up ; for it is quite as true of Mucross as of Melrose — to see it 



"Aright, 
Go visit it by the pale moonlight !' 



The site was chosen with the usual judgment and taste of ' 
who invariably selected the pleasantest of all pleasant places, 
was Irrelough ; and it ap- 
pears that long prior to the ".^ £\& 'V 
erection of this now ruined _ v _ =~= 
structure, a church ex- 
isted in the same spot, 
which was consumed by 
fire in 1192. The abbey 
was built for Franciscan 
monks, according to Arch- 
dall, in 1440 ; but the An- 
nals of the Four Masters 
give its date a century 
earlier : both, however, 
ascribe its foundation to 
one of the Mac Carthys, 
princes of Desmond. It 
was several times repaired, 
and once subsequently to 
the Reformation, as we 
learn from the following 
inscription on a stone let into the north wall of the choir : 



the monks of old," 
The original name 




MUCROSS ABBEY. 



" (©rate p fzlici tftatu ivi& Cijafle flolmt qui ijunc Sactu conbetu tie nobo 
rtparare mrafott &mto Domini tmtltgtmo ger«ntes>tmo btgegtmo £erto." 



The building consists of two principal parts — the convent and the church. The 
church is about one hundred feet in length and twenty -four in breadth ; the 
steeple, which stands between the nave and the chancel, rests on four high and 
slender pointed arches. The principal entrance is by a handsome pointed 

K 



138 



A WEEK AT KILLARNET. 




door-way, luxuriantly overgrown with ivy, through which is seen the great eastern 
window. The intermediate space, as, indeed, 
every part of the ruined edifice, is filled with 
tombs, the greater number distinguished only 
by a slight elevation from the mould around 
them ; but some containing inscriptions to di- 
rect the stranger where especial honour should 
be paid. A large modern tomb, in the centre 
of the choir, covers the vault, in which in ancient 
times were interred the Mac Carthy Mor, and 
more recently the O'Donaghue Mor of the 
Glens, whose descendants were buried here so 
late as the year 1833. Close to this tomb, but 
on a level with the earth, is the slab which 
formerly covered the vault. It is without in- entrance to mucross. 

scription, but bears the arms of the Earl of Clancare. The convent as well as 
the church is in very tolerable preservation ; and Mr. Herbert has taken care, as 
far as he can, to baulk the consumer, Time, of the remnants of his glorious feast. 

The dormitories, the kitchen, the refectory, the cellars, the infirmary, and other 
chambers, are 
still in a state 
of comparative 
preservation ; the 
upper rooms are 
unroofed ; and 
the coarse grass 
grows abundant- 
ly among them. 
The great fire- 
place of the re- 
fectory is curious 
and interesting 
— affording evi- 
dence that the 
good monks were 
not forgetful of 
the duty they 

owed themselves, or of the bond they had entered into, to act upon the advice of 
St. Paul, " And be given to hospitality." This recess is pointed out as the bed of 
John Drake — a pilgrim who about a century ago took up his abode in the Abbey, 




THE FIRE-PLACE AT MUCROSS. 



MUCROSS ABBEY. 



139 



yy&s^ '■ 



and continued its inmate during a period of several years. As will be supposed, 
his singular choice of residence has given rise to abundant stories \ and the 
mention of his name to any of the guides or boatmen will at once produce a 
volume of the marvellous. 

The cloister, which consists of twenty-two arches, ten of them semicircular and 
twelve pointed, is the best preserved portion of the Abbey. In the centre grows 
a magnificent yew-tree, which covers, as a roof, the whole area ; its circumference 
is thirteen feet, and its height in proportion. It is more than probable that the 
tree is coeval with the Abbey ; that it was planted by the hands of the monks who 
built the sacred edifice centuries ago. 

Although for a very long period the monks must have lived and died in the 
abbey of Mucross, posterity has been puzzled to find out the places where they 
are interred. Time has mingled their remains with those of the tens of thousands 
of nameless men who have here found their homes ; but the peasantry still point 
out an ancient, singular, 
and rudely-constructed 
vault on the outside of 
the church, and immedi- 
ately under the east win- 
dow, where the bones of 
the holy fathers have be- 
come dust. 

Having arrived at the 
close of his first day's tour 
— no doubt prolonged 
until the twilight has 
deepened into night, — 
perhaps before the Tour- 
ist retires to rest he will 
have no objection to re- 
ceive some information on a subject to which a visit to Mucross may naturally 
turn his attention — the funeral ceremonies of the Irish, which are peculiar, 
remarkable, and interesting. 

The formalities of " the Wake " commence almost immediately after life has 
ceased. The corpse is at once laid out, and the wake begins : the priest having 
been first summoned to say mass for the repose of the departed soul, which he 
generally does in the apartment in which the body reposes ! 

The ceremonies differ somewhat in various districts, but only in a few minor 
and unimportant particulars. The body, decently laid out on a table or bed, is 
covered with white linen, and, not unfrequently, adorned with black ribbons, if an 

k2 







A TOMB AT MUCROSS. 



140 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



adult ; white, if the party be unmarried ; and flowers, if a child. Close by it, or 
upon it, are plates of tobacco and snuff; 
around it are lighted candles. Usually 
a quantity of salt is laid upon it also. 
The women of the household range them- 
selves at either side, and the keen (caoine) 
at once commences. They rise with one 
accord, and, moving their bodies with a 
slow motion to and fro, their arms apart, 
they continue to keep up a heart-rending 
cry. This cry is interrupted for a while 
to give the ban caointhe (the leading- 
keener) an opportunity of commencing. 
At the close of every stanza of the dirge 
the cry is repeated, to fill up, as it were, 
the pause, and then dropped ; the woman 
then again proceeds with the dirge, and so 
on to the close. 

The keener is usually paid for her ser- 
vices ; — the charge varying from a crown to a pound, according to the circum- 
stances of the employer. They — 

" live upon the dead, 
By letting out their persons by the hour 
To mimic sorrow when the heart's not sad." 




It often happens, however, that the family has some friend or relation rich in the 
gift of poetry, and who will, for love of her kin, give the unbought eulogy to the 
memory of the deceased. The Irish language, bold, forcible, and comprehensive, 
full of the most striking epithets and idiomatic beauties, is peculiarly adapted for 
either praise or satire ; its blessings are singularly touching and expressive, and its 
curses wonderfully strong, bitter, and biting. The rapidity and ease with which both 
are uttered, and the epigrammatic force of each concluding stanza of the keen, 
generally bring tears to the eyes of the most indifferent spectator, or produce a state 
of terrible excitement. The dramatic effect of the scene is very powerful : the 
darkness of the death-chamber, illumined only by candles that glare upon the corpse, 
the manner of repetition or acknowledgment that runs round when the keener gives 
out a sentence, the deep, yet suppressed sobs of the nearer relatives, and the stormy 
uncontrollable cry of the widow or bereaved husband when allusion is made to 
the domestic virtues of the deceased — all heighten the effect of the keen ; but in 
the open air, winding round some mountain-pass, when a priest, or person greatly 



FUNERAL CEREMONIES THE WAKE. 



141 



beloved and respected, is carried to the grave, and the keen, swelled by a thousand 
voices, is borne upon the mountain echoes — it is then absolutely magnificent. 
The following affords an idea of the air to which it is usually chaunted : — 






The keener is almost invariably an aged woman ; or if she be comparatively 
young, the habits of her life make her look old. We remember one, whom the artist 




has pictured from our description ; we never can forget .a scene in which she 
played a conspicuous part. A young man had been shot by the police as he was 



H2 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



resisting a warrant for his arrest. He was of " decent people," and had " a fine 
wake." The woman, when we entered the apartment, was sitting on a low stool 
by the side of the corpse. Her long black uncombed locks were hanging about 
her shoulders ; her eyes were the deep-set greys, peculiar to the country, and 
which are capable of every expression, from the bitterest hatred and the direst 
revenge to the softest and warmest affection. Her large blue cloak was confined 
at her throat ; but not so closely as to conceal the outline of her figure, thin and 
gaunt, but exceedingly lithesome. When she arose, as if by sudden inspiration, 
first holding out her hands over the body, and then tossing them wildly above her 
head, she continued her chaunt in a low monotonous tone, occasionally breaking 
into a style earnest and animated ; and using every variety of attitude to give 
emphasis to her words, and enforce her description of the virtues and good quali- 
ties of the deceased. " Swift and sure was his foot," she said, " on hill and valley. 
His shadow struck terror to his foes ; he could look the sun in the face like an 
eagle ; the whirl of his weapon through the air was fast and terrible as the light- 
ning. There had been full and plenty in his father's house, and the traveller 
never left it empty ; but the tyrants had taken all except his heart's blood — and 
that they took at last. The girls of the mountain may cry by the running streams, 
and weep for the flower of the country — but he would return no more. He was 
the last of his father's house ; but his people were many both on hill and valley j. 
and they would revenge his death ! " Then, kneeling, she clenched her hands 
together, and cursed bitter curses against whoever had aimed the fatal bullet — 
curses which illustrate but too forcibly the fervour of Irish hatred. " May the 
light fade from your eyes, so that you may never see what you love ! May the 
grass grow at your door ! May you fade into nothing like snow in summer ! 
May your own blood rise against ye, and the sweetest drink ye take be the 
bitterest cup of sorrow ! May ye die without benefit of -priest or clergy!" To 
each of her curses there was a deep " Amen," which the ban caointhe paused to 
hear, and then resumed her maledictions. 




.... 




# 



i t 



^ 








THE SECOND DAY'S TOUR. 



CARRAN TUEL MANGERTON 



Awaken at daybreak • look up to the Mountains, 
and see if they, like you, have the nightcap on ; for, 
if the clouds be hovering above with an apparent will 
to settle there, your plan must be changed, and you may 
prepare to roam among the Islands, postponing the 
business of " strong climbers " to a more favourable 
time. If you have slept at the Herbert Arms, ques- 
tion gentle Tore or rugged Mangerton as to the day's 
promise. The answer, be sure, will be a true one. If 
your home be the Victoria, open your window, and you 
will have, suddenly, a full sight of half a score of 
Mountains,— from either or all of whom you 
may counsel. To Glena and Toomies 
whisper will be audible ; 
Mangerton himself 
will hear you with- 
out asking you to raise your voice ; and the loftiest of the Giant Reeks— 



144 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY, 



even mighty Carran Tuel — is within hearing, if your call be but moderately 
loud. 

Let us anticipate the reply, — a welcome and a reward ! The mountain tops are 
clear ; prepare for the ascent. Bear in mind that you are about to undertake no 
child's play. The labour is a severe one, but — 

" Though steep the track, 
The mountain-top, when climb'd, will well o'erpay 
The scaler's toil. The prospect thence ! " 

Probably your choice of mountains will be determined by the hotel at which 
you are located. At the Victoria you are about twelve miles from Carran Tuel 
and five from Mangerton ; at Roche's you are distant a mile perhaps from the foot 
of Mangerton, and fifteen miles from that of Carran Tuel. The greater feat is to 
ascend the latter ; the easier task to mount the former. In either case be astir 
early. As we have intimated, a dozen or two of rugged mountaineers, of all ages 
and sizes, will gather about your car as soon as you arrive. The ponies, sent 
on before, have announced your coming ; and a rare group will be submitted to 
you from which to choose a guide. As the safest way of showing the Tourist what 
he will have to say, do, and see, let us picture our own proceedings. We begin 
with Carran Tuel.* 

A wild and dreary, yet not uninteresting or unpleasing, road leads to the 
mountain. For a few miles it passes along the northern banks of the Upper Lake, 
crosses the Laune Bridge, leaves to the left the entrance to Dunloe Gap, and runs 
through a rude district, where Nature is left for the most part with no other restraint 
than her own will. Every now and then noble prospects are had — of wide and 
rich valleys, from the heights of barren hills, and, twice or thrice, glimpses may be 
caught of the pretty bay of Castlemaine. From Killarney to Carran Tuel, how- 
ever, there are few objects that will tempt the Tourist to leave his car.t 

* Carran Tuel—" the inverted sickle ; " so called from the peculiar form of its top. When 
Mr. Weld visited it in 1812, the labour of the ascent must have been more serious than it is 
now ; for many ladies contrive to ascend it ; nor is it indeed very difficult. The ponies bear 
them until within two miles of the top ; and if the day is begun early, and a couple of hours can 
be given to these two miles, the feat is easily accomplished. Until Mr. Weld ascended, " no 
stranger," he was told, " had ever attempted it." 

f One exception must be made. He will pass the dwelling of the grand-daughter of that 
Kate Kearney, who — we care not to say how many years ago — inspired the Muse of Miss 
Owenson : — 

" did ye ne'er hear of Kate Kearney 1 
She lives by the Lake of Killarney." 

The grand-daughter — herself the mamma of a fine family, Irish in number and in growth, — is 



CAERAN TUEL. ITS GUIDES. 145 



On arriving at the base of the mountain, or rather by the side of a small and 
rapid river which runs from one of its lakes, the Tourist is invited to repose in 
a small hunting lodge, built by some of the neighbouring gentry chiefly for the 
accommodation of strangers. It was a good deed. The visitor will bless the 
architect, when seated there, after the descent,* and to the contents of his basket 
have been added fresh eggs, milk, and mealy potatoes, with which the caretaker 
is amply provided. Here the car remains, and the ponies are called into requi- 
sition. Half a dozen of " the boys " were about us ; but Sir Richard was there 
as commanding officer, and Jerry O'Sullivan, as acting adjutant, brought up the 
rear to see that all was right, t 

A goat-herd joined our group ; and taking the bridle of a pony, commenced the 
actual duties of a guide. They had become necessary, for the path had grown so 
rugged that a passage over it seemed impossible. The herd was a stout-limbed 
fellow, with the expressive face of a savage ; he could not speak a word of English ; 
but there was not a stone, a stream, scarcely a tuft of heather in the glen, with 
which he was unacquainted. 

We may pause a moment in our details to relate an anecdote of this herd, as 
related to us by Jerry O'Sullivan. 

" Well ! " exclaimed Jerry, " surely I ought to remember dat stone ; for I was 
going up de mountain one fine day wid a party, and dere was one lady of de party 
got very tired. ' I'll go no farder,' she says : i only sit and wait here till down you 
come.' Well, she sat down quite contint : and dere was a lot of dose mountain 
cattle and sheep grazing — or, I may say, picking de bits o' grass out o' de moun- 
tain : and I said to meeself, well, I hope none of de wild mountainy cattle will go 
and stare at de lady ; for, as she is English, she mightn't understand 'em ; but dere 



not unworthy the high fame of her grand-dame. She is what in Ireland is called a " fine 
fla-hu-lagh woman," — meaning that she has " blood and bone," as well as " beauty." In 1850, 
indeed, we found that time had a little marked her ; but her children may yet become themes 
for future poets. The tourist will find cakes and goat's milk at her cottage ; which neatness and 
order might very much improve. 

* We noticed the following couplet scrawled in pencil on the wall, — 

" What to the desert is the fountain, 
This pleasant lodge is to the mountain." 

f Jerry O'Sullivan now (in 1850) drives the mail car from Killarney to Buttevant : we should 
have missed him sorely during our late visit, but that his place was well supplied by his brother, 
— Mickey O'Sullivan, a safe and most attentive driver and an excellent companion, who knows 
" every inch of the road," and every legend or tradition associated with it. We recommend the 
tourist to engage him if possible ; and not to forget to ask him among his other stories to tell 
that of " the foxy tailor ; " and also how it happened that the eagle deserted the eagle's nest. 



146 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



was no use in saying any ting about it den, for we were far enough from her 
before I fancied at all about her. We got to de top, and had a most beautiful view — 
such a view as ne'er a kingdom but Kerry could lay before any gentleman— dere it 
was, just as stretched out by de Almighty's word : and to say de trute, it's little 
any of us tought about de lady below. Her husband told her after, he was tinking of 
her all de time ; but I'd take my oat he never said so. At last we scrambled down, 
and when we came in sight of de poor lady, I saw dat one of de wild mountain herds, 
one of de poor boys dat do be herding de cows and sheep night and day on de 
mountain, was standin opposite to her ; and sure I was very glad of it, for I says 
to meeself, de herd will keep de cattle from her, and not let her feel lonesome. 
Well ! as we got nearer, I saw de lady every now and den poke someting, which 
I took to be a long stick wid a little bag at de end of it, to de herd, and once he 
took de little bag off of it, and looked at it ; and den he shook his shaggy red 
head, and gave it back to her. When she saw us, she seemed going mad wid joy ; 
and de herd began jumping, and trowing up his arms, and capering. By de time 
we got to de lady she was a'most in a faint ; and pointing to de herd, she said, ' he 
had come to murder her ; and she had offered him her purse on de top of her 
parasol not to do her any harm ; and he looked at de money tro' de net-work, but 
would not keep it.' And den she turned on her husband, and gave it him for 
laving her (as she said) to be devoured by wild Irish-men : and he coaxed her up, 
and told her how she would stay, and how she was never out of his toughts a minit. 
And den de poor herd told ns, in Irish, how, ' seeing a lady alone in de mountain, 
he was fearsome de cattle might do her some harm ; and he came over to her for 
company, to keep dem off ; and how she had done noting but make faces at him, 
and wouldn't answer anyting he said ; and he doing his best for her, and didn't 
know what she meant by giving him a little bag to look at ; — and sure it couldn't 
be dat such a fine lady could be fearsome of such as he.' And when de lady gave 
time to herself to get her senses togeder she was grately amused at her own fright, 
and gave de poor fellow five shillings : and indeed I've often tought dat she is not 
de only English person dat is afeerd of us, just because dey don't understand us."* 
We resume the ascent up Carran Tuel. " The Hag's Glen " is now reached. 
The glen is, in reality, the base of the mountain. For, although we have been 
ascending for above three miles since we left the lodge, the ascent is so gradual as 
to be scarcely perceptible. Here, however, we come to a dead stop. We stand 



* In this anecdote we have transcribed the Kerry pronunciation ; for English tourists cannot 
fail to perceive how seldom they hear " th " properly sounded. The English language, however, 
is to the peasant a foreign one ; and frequently those who cannot sound the diphthong can quote 
Latin verses. 



VIEW FROM CARRAN TUEL. MANGERTON. 147 



between two small but singularly leaden and dead-looking mountain loughs. 
They are the Baths of " the Hag " — the ruling demon of the glen ; in one of them 
is her bed ; among the overhanging cliffs are her chair, her crutch, and her 
cap ; while " her tooth " is a crag, as hideous-looking as if it really belonged of 
right to the jaw of the foul fiend. We look up — the mountain seems absolutely 
perpendicular : to climb it appears an impossibility. The ponies are left to browse 
the stunted herbage round ; and those who have strong limbs and sound lungs 
must commence a task of labour, for which, however, there is a huge reward. On 
we go — up we go — resting every now and then, to take breath, to receive the 
encouraging cheers of the guide, and to look about us. After a couple of hours' 
most severe labour, the two miles — thereabouts — from the Hag's Glen to the 
summit, are passed over. We stand on the peak of Carran Tuel — the highest 
mountain in Ireland, exactly 3414 feet from the level of the sea. 

Here the London Pride grows in rich luxuriance ; and a small stream of pure 
water issuing from the crevice of a rock and oozing through the soil makes the 
surrounding herbage of the richest and brightest green. Frightful are the preci- 
pices all about us ; but we have no business, as yet, to look down. North, south, 
east, and west, the view is open. How weak is language to picture memory ! 

The prospect is indeed inconceivably grand, — past counting are the Lakes — seen 
everywhere among the minor Keeks, the lesser hills, and the valleys near and 
distant.* Within immediate ken, are the Bays of Tralee, Kenmare, Dingle, and 
Bantry ; farther off is Cape Clear on the one side, and on the other the mighty 
Shannon ; while, beyond all, is the broad Atlantic. A glorious day — a day never 
to be forgotten, — a day full of profitable and most rich enjoyment, — will he have 
spent who spends it ascending Carran Tuel. 

And now for the ascent up Mangerton. 

Here let us remark that Carran Tuel has fewer pilgrims than Mangerton, — 
obviously because Mangerton is more accessible, while the ascent is easier ; and 
perhaps it would be unjust to say that the recompense is much less. To those, 
indeed, whose grand object is to form acquaintance with " The Lakes," Mangerton 
has attractions greater than even those of Carran Tuel — as we shall show 
presently. 

If the ascent up Carran Tuel be a serious labour, neither is the journey to the 
summit of Mangerton to be thought of lightly ; although mighty efforts at 
mounting both may excite a smile in those who have climbed the " Monarch of 
Mountains." For a very long period, until within the present century, indeed, 
Mangerton had usurped the honour of ranking as the highest of the Irish moun- 

* But a small portion of the Lower Lake is however visible from this point. It is shut from 
the sight by intervening Toomies. 



148 



A WEEK IN KILLARXEY. 



tains : so Dr. Smith describes it, although he admits that the Reeks " look more 
lofty." Since the inquiries of Mr. Nimmo, and the improvements in surveying, 
Mangerton has, however, been compelled to resign its throne, and " hide its dimi- 
nished head." Still, to dwellers in the valley, and more especially those of the city, 
its height is sufficient to afford a pretty correct idea of what a veritable mountain 
actually is. "We commenced our excursion on a morning that gave promise of 
a fine day ; mounted on the sure-footed ponies whom " practice had made perfect," 
and who are never known to stumble. Indeed, a trip would not unfrequently 
prove fatal to the rider. A road leads from Cloghreen to the base of the moun- 
tain. As this portion of his service seemed to be that upon which Sir Richard 
chiefly prided himself, he had assumed an additional degree of importance ; and 
issued orders " in good set terms " to his subordinates. A crowd soon gathered 
about us, men, women, girls, 
and boys, with vial-bottles 
of potheen and cans of goat- 
milk ; each with a greeting 
— "yer honours welcome 
to Mangerton." About a 
score of them were in at- 
tendance as we reached a 
group of wretched hovels at 
the foot of the mountain ■ 
and the crowd grew like a 
snow-ball as it moved on- 
wards. Take a portrait of 
one of them — a fine hale and 
healthy mountain maid ; as 
buoyant as the breeze, and 
as hardy as the heath that 
blossoms on its summit. 
The sure feet of our horses 
were soon tried; the little 
rough-coated animals had 
to make their way over 
rocks, bogs, and huge stones, 
through rushing and brawling streams, and along the brinks of precipices — places 
where it would be very difficult for persons unaccustomed to mountain travelling 
to move along on foot. At length we reached " the Devil's Punch Bowl," a small 
lake in the midst of rocks almost perpendicular. Our rude sketch may convey 
some idea of its singular character. The water is intensely cold ; yet, in the 




VENDOR OF GOAT S MILK. 



DEVILS PUNCH BOWL. VIEW FROM MANGERTON. 



149 



severest winter it never freezes ; trout are never found in it, although they are 
plentiful enough in the stream that runs out of it — the stream that Sir Richard 
calls the "Styx," which supplies the Tore waterfall. The peasants, of course, 
attribute this peculiarity to the influence of his Satanic majesty ; but from its 
position it is never calm, being in a state 

of agitation on the mildest summer day. - "'-/' . 

As it is chiefly supplied by springs that .,-:- ^ ._-" "' \ 

pass over the surrounding peat-beds, the 
water is of a very dark colour, and its 
depth is said to be unfathomable. A foot- 
path marks the way to the summit of the 
mountain. It is a perfect level of con- 
siderable extent, covered with a deep 
stratum of peat moss ; into which the 
foot sinks some inches, even in the driest 
weather. 

The view from the mountain-top defies 
any attempt at description ; it was the 
most magnificent sight we had ever wit- 
nessed, and one that greatly surpassed 
even the dream of our imagination. In 
the far away distance is the broad Atlan- 
tic, with the river of Kenmare, the Bay 
of Bantry, the Bay of Dingle, and the 
storm-beaten coast of Iveragh ; farther 
off still is the Shannon, Kilrush, and 
Tarbert. Midway are the mountains, of 
all forms and altitudes, with their lakes 
and cataracts, and streams of white foam. At our feet lie the three Killarney 
lakes, with Glena, and Tore, and even Toomies, looking like protecting walls 
girdling them round about. The islands in the Upper and Lower Lake have, some 
of them, dwindled into mere specks, while the larger seem fitted only for the 
occupation of fairies. The river Flesk winds prettily along the valley ; and the 
Flesk Bridge, with its twenty-one arches, resembles a child's toy. We were 
peculiarly fortunate as regards the weather. Against the intense cold that prevails 
at all seasons on the heights we had been duly warned and prepared ; and our 
guide was loaded with matters we might have sadly missed if they had been with- 
held till our return. We had scarcely reached the top, when the clouds came 
suddenly round us — around, above, and below; we could not see our companions 
although they were but a few yards from us, and the rough play of the wind 




DEVILS PUNCH BOWL. 



150 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



prevented us from hearing their voices. At length Sir Richard crept to our side, 
and, as if infected by the solemn expression of our countenances, he abstained for 
a while from breaking the reverie in which we indulged. After a time, however, 
he murmured some words of alarm lest the clouds should continue, and prevent 
our seeing the glorious prospect he had promised us. The dark light, for it is 
scarcely paradoxical to say so, continued about us for many minutes. It was 
a bright white mist in which we were enveloped ; and, as we attempted to peer 
through it, we could compare it to nothing but lying on the ground and looking 
upwards when the sky is unbroken by a single cloud. After a time, however, the 
clouds gradually drifted off; and the whole of the magnificent panorama was 
displayed beneath us. The effect was exciting to a degree ; the beautiful fore- 
ground, the magnificent midway, and the sublime distance, were all taken in by 
the eye at once. While we gazed, however, the clouds again passed over the 
landscape, and all was once more a blank ; after a few minutes they departed, and 
gave to full view the whole of the grand and beautiful scene ; and in this manner 
above an hour was occupied, with alternate changes of darkness and light. On 
our way down the mountain, we deviated from the accustomed track to visit Coom- 
na-goppol — " the Glen of the Horse ; " — so called, according to Mr. Weld, " from 
the excellence of its pastures ; " but, according to Mr. Windele, " from the circum- 
stance of one of these poor animals having been accidentally precipitated over 
a craig into a dark lough at its base." The glen may be likened to a gigantic pit, 
surrounded on all sides by perpendicular mountain-rocks, in which the eagle builds 
his nest without the fear of man. It is inaccessible except from one particular 
spot, where its superabundant waters have forced a passage into a still lower valley. 
To reach it from the heights above would be almost impossible. Following the 
course of the stream we are conducted through rich pasture ground to the borders 
of a spacious lake — Lough Kittane ; in extent it nearly equals Tore Lake, but 
nature has left it without adornment — surrounded by rude and barren hills. 

Let the Tourist be as stout a mountaineer as ever trod on heather, he will not, 
after ascending and descending either Carran Tuel or Mangerton, set foot in the 
valley quite as "fresh" as he was when he commenced his journey, — and the arm 
chair at Roche's, with the pleasant greeting of Jerry Connor's voice, will be by no 
means things unwelcome. The sauce for Kerry mutton will have been brought 
down from the mountain; and this day, especially, the Tourist will be little 
disposed to question the accuracy of Jerry, who will be sure to announce it as 
"the sweetest mutton in all Ireland." It is, however, so remarkably small, and the 
appetite will — for once at least — have grown so outrageously large, that the guest 
will stare as he looks at the dish when dinner is over. 

The exertion of the morning will prevent a very strong desire for renewed 
activity in the evening ; yet the remainder of a summer's day must not be lost. 



THE IRISH PIPES ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



151 




Advantage should therefore be taken of the opportunity to hear Gandsey play, and 
to make acquaintance with the Irish bagpipes, under circumstances peculiarly 
favourable to the reputation of that much over-lauded and much over-abused 
instrument of music. The truth is that the pipes are delicious or abominable — 
just according to the skill of the hand that rules them. 

The bagpipes are said to have been introduced into Ireland from Caledonia ; 
though, if such be the case, a very early period must be assigned for their intro- 
duction, as we find them alluded to in the very ancient tale of Deirdre, supposed 
by the best judges to be an undoubted relic of Pagan times. It had the same use 
among the ancient Irish armies that it now has among the Highland regiments. 
But the Irish made, in the course of time, an improvement — by using a bellows to 
fill the chanter instead of the mouth, 
and continued making various ad- 
ditions until they produced that 
pleasant instrument, the union 
pipes. 

The accompanying figures repre- 
sent the Irish bagpipes in their pri- 
mitive and improved form. We 
have here the earliest pipes, originally 
the same as the Scotch, as appears 
from a drawing made in the sixteenth 

century, and given in Mr. Bunting's work ; but now differ in having the mouth- 
piece supplied by the bellows a, which being blown by the motion of the pipers 
arm, to which it is fastened, fills 

the bag b ; from whence, by the /^m, J&6 

pressure of the other arm, the 
wind is conveyed into the chanter 
c, which is played on with the 
fingers, much like a common pipe. 
By means of a tube the wind is 
conveyed into the drones a, a, a } 
which, tuned at octaves to each 
other, produce a kind of cronan, 
or bass, to the chanter. The cut 
represents the improved or union 
pipes, the drones of which, tuned 
at thirds and fifths by the regu- 
lator a, have keys attached to them, which not only produce the most delightful 
accords, but enable the player to perform parts of tunes, and sometimes whole tunes, 



COMMON BAGPIPES. 




UNION PIPES. 



152 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



without using the chanter at all. Both drones and chanter can be rendered 
quiescent by means of stops. 

The Pipers were at one period the " great originals " of Ireland. The race are 
gradually departing, or, at least, " sobering " down into the ranks of ordinary 
mortals ; but there was a time when the piper stood out very prominently upon 
any canvass that pictured Irish life. Anecdotes of their eccentricities might be 
recorded that would fill volumes. For many years past their power has been on 
the wane; temperance committed sad havoc on their prospects ; and, at length, the 
introduction of " Brass Bands " effectually destroyed the small balance that re- 
mained to them of hope. 

The reader must take especial care not to confound Gandsey with the class of 
" old Irish Pipers." A short sketch of his life will show that he has been placed 
under more auspicious circumstances.* 

He was long distinguished as " Lord Headley's piper ; " and it was his privilege 
for many years to receive instruction beneath his Lordship's roof, — where his fine 
original talents were applied to what was worthy of care and cultivation, and where 
his attention was riveted to the most exquisite melodies of the mountains and glens. 
The venerable bard has much Saxon blood in his veins : for his father was an 
English soldier, who, being quartered at Ross Castle, fell in love — most naturally 
— with a pretty Kerry girl, who, having espoused him and his fortunes, followed 
them to Gibraltar, bequeathing her child to her mother's care. The boy caught 
the small-pox, and it left him nearly blind : he can still tell how many candles are 
lighting on a table : and perhaps sight is not destroyed, but sealed. The child 
evinced early genius for music, turning, when absolutely an infant, the reeds of 
the lake into musical instruments. When old enough, his grandfather sent him to 
one of the rustic schools where Latin was taught ; and not only the master, but the 
pupils, loved to instruct the blind quick boy, who even now has sufficient remem- 
brance of "his classics" to cap Latin verses, and enjoy the exercise. Gandsey 
possesses original talent in many ways ^ his wit is ready and keen, and he throws 
the genuine character of the strain into his performance : — but, gentle Tourist, we 
pray you judge for yourself. The door opens, and the blind old man is led in by 
his son : his head is covered by the snows of age, and his face, though it retains 

* We retain our notice of Gandsey, although we believe he has given up appearing in public ; 
and it is not likely that visitors to Killarney will hear him play. He has visited America since 
we made his acquaintance, and although he has returned home, it is, we understand, for repose, 
towards the close of a very active life. Unhappily, he has lost his son, and now leans for support 
on a young child — his grandson. Whenever Gandsey dies, a great charm will be lost to 
Killarney : it is to be lamented that there is no one in the town or neighbourhood to take his 
place, or at all events to furnish visitors with the means of hearing the Irish Bagpipes — so long 
famous in story and song. 



gandsey's music. 153 



traces of the fearful disease which deprived him of sight, is full of expression. 
His manner is elevated and unrestrained, — the manner of one who feels his 
superiority in his art, and knows that if he do not give you pleasure the fault will 
not be his. 

Considering that perhaps you do not sufficiently understand the beauty of Irish 
minstrelsy, he will test your taste by playing some popular air or quadrille ; and 
you already ask yourself if you are really listening to "the droning bagpipes." His 
son accompanies him with so much taste and judgment on the violin as to cause 
regret that he is not practised on his father's instrument, for you would have the 
mantle — hereafter, and long hence may it be — descend upon the son. You 
ask for an Irish air ; and Gandsey, still uncertain as to your real taste, feels his 
way again, and plays, perhaps, " Will you come to the bower 1 " — so softly and 
so eloquently that you forget your determination in favour of "original Irish 
music," and pronounce an " encore :" do not, however, waste any more of your 
evening thus ; but call forth the piper's pathos, by naming " Drimmindruh " as an 
air you desire to hear; then observe how his face betrays the interest he feels 
in the wailing melody he pours, not only into your ear, but into your heart. 
What think you of that whispering cadence — like the wind sighing through the 
willows 1 What of that fine-drawn tone, melting into air 1 The atmosphere 
becomes oppressed with grief; and strong-headed, brave-hearted men feel their 
cheeks wet with tears. Said we not that Gandsey was a man of might *? . The 
piper feels the effect of that air himself; and, as he is not a disciple of Father 
Mathew,a flagon of ale, or a mixture of mountain-dew, will "raise his heart," 
and put him in tune for a planxty. There it comes — ringing merry music — 
joy-giving, light-hearted strain — the overboiling of Irish glee. Some of the 
martial gatherings are enough to rouse O'Donaghue from his palace beneath the 
lake, — one in particular, " O'Donaghue's whistle," is full of wild energy and fire. 
In but too many instances these splendid airs have not been noted down : the 
piper learned them in his youth from old people, whose perishing voices had 
preserved the musical traditions so deeply interesting — even in an historical 
point of view — to all who would gather from the wrecks of the past, thoughts 
for the future. There are few of these memories of gone-by times that Gandsey 
does not make more interesting by an anecdote or a legend ; and in proportion 
as he excites your interest he continues to deserve it. 

In no district can acquaintance with Irish native melody be so profitably and 
pleasantly cultivated as at Killarney. Many will visit the Lakes whose knowledge 
of the national music of Ireland is limited to " Jullien's quadrilles," and a few 
melodies married to the immortal verse of Moore ; but the wild unearthly character 
of some of the finest airs renders them unsuited to English words ; and they are 
even yet in a great degree secreted among the glens and fastnesses of the wildest 

L 



lo4 



A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



parts of the country, where those who would fain gather them have never gone. 
Many of these fine old airs are familiar to Gandsey, who luxuriates in them, and 
appreciates the sentiment each was intended to convey : for, be it remembered, 
Irish music was never the offspring of fashion or caprice ; it was literally the voice 
of the people. Whether excited by joy, or sorrow, or love, or injustice, their feelings 
found vent in music : their grief for the dead was relieved by a dirge ; they roused 
their troops by song, and offered their prayers in chorus and chant : their music 
was poetry, and their poetry music. 





THE THIRD DAI'S TOUR. 

aghadoe j gap op dunloe 

Brandon's cottage ; upper lake ; long range ; eagle's 

nest ; weir bridge j torc lake j lower lake j glena. 

remising that the day must be a fine one, let it be com 
menced early ; for the Tourist who undertakes to follow 
us will have much to do ; so much, indeed, that — if it 
be all done — no after-evil of ill-weather can greatly diminish 
his power to become acquainted with the " Lions " of the 
Lakes ; — for when he has seen those we have named at the head of this chapter, 
the rest may be visited easily, inasmuch as they are accessible " between showers." 
Let us start at once, then. From the Victoria, Aghadoe is scarcely a stone's throw 
— across the fields, that is to say ; but it will take a good half hour to reach it by 
driving round the hill. To the left, we leave the seat of Lady Headley : honoured 
be the name of one whose active benevolence fills the air with blessings ; 

l2 



156 



A WEEK AT K1LLARNEY, 



and honoured also be the memory of her lord, whose name is still a synonym 
for goodness, virtue, generosity, and liber- 
ality, in the estimation of all who have 
lived within reach of his healing influence ! 
He sleeps in the grave-yard of the small 
church he built upon this hill-top. We pass 
it as we ascend. And now we reach the 
venerable ruins of Aghadoe. They consist 
of the remnant of a round tower, the walls 
of a small cathedral church, and the base of 
a round castle, called sometimes " the Pulpit " 
and sometimes "the Bishop's Chair." The 
church is a low oblong building, consisting 
of two distinct chapels of unequal antiquity.* 
The ornamented doorway, although much 
injured by time, is still exceedingly graceful 
and beautiful. The artist has indicated that, 
as usual, the church is rendered revolting 
by the relics of mortality that lie scattered 
in heaps in all directions around it. Man} T 

of the skulls have been bleached by the rains and winds of centuries, and are as 
white as the clearest paper.t 




* " Aghadoe continues to give title to a bishop. Amongst the Koman Catholics, the diocese 
is still preserved distinct ; but in the Established Church it ranks as a secondary one, attached 
to the see of Limerick." The remote antiquity of the Abbey is supported by reference to the 
Annals of Inisfallen, where it is emphatically styled the old Abbey, although the Abbey of 
Inisfallen was founded in the seventh century. 

The Ogham stone described by Vallancey, and referred to by Mr. Weld, as " in the north- 
west corner of the church of Aghadoe," is now in the grounds of Aghadoe House. It was stolen 
from the churchyard by a Killarney butcher, to make a stone for his " hall door ;" and was 
luckily discovered in time to be rescued, although not before it was broken. 

+ The state of Aghadoe is indeed quite as disgraceful as the state of Mueross was some thirty 
years ago. We should only excite horror by describing what we ourselves saw there. We con- 
versed upon this painful subject with the Lady of the Manor, Lady Headley, who unfortunately 
has not the power to remedy the evil. It arises solely from the indifference of the peasantry 
to the relics of mortality when they have been some time laid in the earth ; for no greater affront 
, could be offered them than to insult a corpse in which they felt interested. They will inter 
every new applicant for a tomb in the exact spot in which a predecessor was interred : conse- 
quently room must be made ; and they seldom think it worth while to re-inter what they have 
removed. Hence these shocking and degrading scenes. Lord Headley some years ago gave 
the people a quarter of an acre of adjoining ground, which he made interest to have consecrated. 
It lessened the evil very little ; for the ground was rapidly seized upon by new-comers, 



AGRA DOW. 



The round castle stands at the hill side, within a square " bawn" or enclosure, 
fortified by a foss and earthern ramparts. It bears tokens of considerable 
strength ; the walls are seven feet high ; the height of the structure is now about 
thirty feet. It contains a flight of stone steps, formed in the thickness of the 
wall. The corbels that supported the timber joists, which formed the floor of the 
first chamber, still remain. It was evidently a small building, used, perhaps, 
merely as a defensive fortress to the church • its age, probably, is no more remote 
than the 12th century. 

The round tower, although a very small portion of it remains, cannot fail to be 
a subject of deep interest to all strangers.* Let the Tourist climb to " the top" — 
the task is not a very difficult one, and see what a glorious view he will have of 
" the Lakes ;" a view, by the way, which most visitors prefer to any other within 
convenient reach. 

Descending the hill, we continue the road along the northern borders of the 
lake until we reach the Laune Bridge, from which there is a fine view of the 
rapid river, on both sides. We drive through a very wild country, hilly and 
boggy, until we near the entrance to the Gap. A short distance before we reach 
it, the Tourist will be called upon to visit a singular cave, which he should 
on no account omit to examine. It may be classed among the more remarkable 
objects of antiquity in Ireland. t 

It is situated in a field immediately adjoining the high road ; and was discovered 
in 1838, by some workmen who, in constructing a sunk fence, broke into a sub- 
terranean chamber of a circular form, the walls of which were of uncemented 
stones inclining inwards, with a roof, also, of long transverse stones. In the 
passage were found several human skulls and bones. 

This Cave of Dunloe must be regarded as an ancient Irish library, lately disin- 
terred, and restored to the light. The books are the large impost stones which form 



* " It stands sixty feet from the ~N.W. angle of the church, and is called ' the Pulpit ' by the 
peasantry. All that now remains of this ancient structure is the basement, reaching from the 
sill of the door downward. The height is about fifteen feet ; it measures in its outer circumfer- 
ence fifty-two feet; the diameter within the walls is six feet ten inches ; the wall is four feet six 
inches thick. The stones are large, regular, and well dressed. The greater part of the facing 
stone of the north side has been unfortunately taken away for the erection of tombs in the 
adjacent burying ground. Within and without the spoliator has been effectually at work, aided 
by those worst of pests, the gold-seekers, — whose unhallowed dreams are most fatal to our 
antiquities. This tower must have fallen previously to the last century ; but no notice of it in 
its erect state has survived." — Windele. 

f The entrance to the field which contains this singular assemblage, is by a gap near a small 
bridge which crosses the river Loe : on the way to it, a holy well is passed ; it is covered with 
stone surmounted by a black cross. 



158 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



the roof. Their angles contain the writing. x\ library of such a literature was 
never heard of in England before, and scarcely in Ireland ; and yet it is of 
the highest antiquity. The discovery opens a new page concerning the hitherto 
disputed question touching the acquaintance of the ancient Irish with letters. 
The Ogham writing, as it is called, is stated to have been known and practised in 
Ireland long before the era of Christianity ; it is to the Irish antiquary what the 
Runes are in the north, and the Arrow-headed or Wedge character is in Babylonia 
and Persepolis. It is more intelligible, however, than the latter, but far less known 
and elucidated than the former. As we have said, it has been a much disputed 
question amongst Irish writers ; and as, until a late period, it was nowhere found 
on monuments, there were not wanting persons disposed to treat the claims of its 
upholders with contempt, and to regard the character as the imposture of idle 
bards and sennachies. The scale consists of four series of scores, each series 
embracing five characters, and each letter ranging from one score to five. The 
position of these groups in reference to a main or medial line, called Fleasg, con- 
stitutes their power. It has been called the Craov or branch Ogham, because it 
has been assimilated to a tree ; the fleasg answering to the trunk or stem, and the 
scores, at either side, or passing through it horizontally, or diagonally, to the 
branches. On the majority of the monuments on which it has been found, the 
angle is availed of to form the fleasg. On the Callan-stone, and on one other 
hitherto discovered, the medial line is cut on the centre of the stone. 

The scale originally consisted, and indeed properly does so still, of but sixteen 
letters. This must also be regarded as an additional proof of its high antiquity. 
Such was the Phenician, Pelasgic, Etruscan, and Celtiberian number. O'Halloran 
has given us the Ogham in its original extent. 

O'Halloran. 

If 



HHi^f- 



tt£. 



| || HI mi mil i li 1 1 1 1111 H i ll / /t -tf? 

blf s n dt caou e imgr 

In subsequent ages it was corrupted or improved by the addition of compounds, 
diphthongs, and letters of foreign extraction, so that the present scale consists of 
twenty-five primitive and compouDd characters. 

i n m mi mi, ' " ' " " !| " l " /////f -mm^ w 1 1 11 mil X o ^ # ^_ 

blf s n h d t c armg ng cr r a o u e i ea oi ui ia ao p 
The earliest written piece of Ogham writing, at present known, is in an ancient 



THE GAP OF DUNLOE. 159 



vellum MS. of the eleventh century, which had been at one time in the hands of 
Sir James Ware, and is now preserved in the British Museum.* 

The very entrance to the Gap is a sudden introduction to its marvels ; the 
visitor is at once convinced that he is about to visit a scene rarely paralleled for 
wild grandeur and stern magnificence ; the singular character of the deep ravine 
would seem to confirm the popular tradition that it was produced by a stroke of 
the sword of one of the giants of old, which divided the mountains and left them 
apart for ever. Any where, and under any circumstances, this rugged and gloomy 
pass would be a most striking object ; but its interest and importance are, no 
doubt, considerably enhanced by the position it occupies in the very centre of 
gentle and delicious beauty. The varied " greenery" of the pleasant glades that 
skirt the lakes, or line the banks of their tributary rivers, has hardly faded from 
the eye, before the bleak and barren rocks, of forms as varied and fantastic as 
they are numerous, are placed before it ; and the ear in lieu of the mingled 
harmony of dancing leaves, and rippling waters, and song of birds, is compelled 
to listen only to the brawling and angry stream rushing onwards, wasting its 
strength in foam, but continually changing its form — here a creeping rivulet 
— here a broad lake — and there a fierce cataract. Along the banks of the 
river is a narrow and, of course, circuitous path. On the right, the Reeks, 
with their grand-master, Carran Tuel, look down upon the dark glen ; while, 
on the left, Toomies and the Purple Mountain rise above it, and with a more 
gracious countenance ; for their sides are not so steep but that the goat finds 
sure footing and pleasant pasture ; and the cow — if it be Kerry born — may 
also wander and ruminate at leisure. The road, or rather bridle track (the pony 
that treads it must not be a stranger) — often passes along the brinks of precipices, 
and then descends into absolute pits ; the roar of the rushing torrent is heard 
plainly all the while — now and then in the depths below, and now and then as a 
talkative and warning guide by the side of the wayfarer. The dark stream is the 
Loe ; and in its limited course through the Gap it expands at several points into 

* The celebrated Lhuyd, in the beginning of the last century, was the first to announce the 
discovery of an Ogham inscription, found on a stone near Dingle. It passed, however, nearly 
unnoticed ; and his copy was so incorrect and defective that nothing could possibly be made of 
it. Subsequent to this — in the year 1785, another stone, similarly inscribed, was discovered 
on Sliav Callan, in the county of Clare ; but as this for the time terminated the progress of dis- 
covery, those who never even heard of that of Lhuyd's, pronounced that the finding of a solitary 
stone proved nothing ; and there were not wanting even those who denounced the Callan in- 
scription as " an impudent forgery." The recent labours of one or two gentlemen of Cork have 
however terminated any scepticism that may have existed on the subject. Inquiries, conducted 
with untiring zeal for a course of four or five years, have resulted in discoveries of an exceed- 
ingly interesting character ; and from forty to fifty inscriptions, all found within a limited district 
in the south of Munster, have rewarded their labours in this hitherto untrodden field. 



160 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



lakes of various and unequal magnitude, and again contracts itself to gather force 
for a new rush through the valley. The rocks along the pass are of forms the 
most grotesque ; and each has received some distinguishing name from the pea- 
santiy.* The one here pictured is called " The Turnpike." Soon after passing the 




THE GAP OP DUNLOE. 



Turnpike, the wildest part of the Gap is reached ; and not far off, the ear is 
suddenly arrested by a " concord of sweet sounds" produced by the water gurgling 
through a subterranean channel, on its way to the " serpent lake" — a lake so called 
because it is said here St. Patrick got rid of the last of the serpents ; for the plan 
which the " wily saint" pursued, we must refer to our friend Stephen Spillane. 
Although the mountains on either side are for the most part bare, they present 
occasionally patches of cultivation, " few and far between ;" but sufficient to show 
that even in this savage region the hand of industry may be employed with 
advantage. From some crevices peep out the gay evergreens — high up, and often 
so far distant that the eye cannot distinguish the arbutus from the prickly furze. 



* One of them is christened, from its singular shape, " O'Donaghue's Heart." Sir Richard 
was ready, as usual, with the why and wherefore ; but in this instance his interpretation was 
very Irish — " Gad, sir, we always knew his heart was a big one, but never thought it was so hard." 




.: ' '' . 



- 



THE LOGAN STONE. 



161 



Occasionally, too, the deep gloom of the pass is dispelled by the notes of Spillane's 
bugle — waking the echoes of the mighty hills ; and now and then the eagle soars 
above the valley. Still it would be impossible for the very lightest-hearted to be 
otherwise than sad while passing through this dark and deep ravine ; it oppresses 
the spirits with exceeding melancholy. Yet it has its own peculiar sources of 
pleasure. 

When the Pass terminates, and the Tourist is, as will be supposed, wearied in 
heart and foot, he suddenly comes upon a scene of unrivalled beauty. A turning 
in the narrow pathway brings him just over the Upper Lake ; and high above 
" the black valley " — the Coom Dhuv. The reader will obtain, from the pencil of 
Mr. Creswick, a happier 

notion of the excitement _ _ : 

produced by the change, ,■_- v : 

than our language can 
give him. It was with 
an uncontrollable burst of 
enjoyment that we gazed 
upon the delicious scene. 
A short time before we 
had thus indulged in a 
luxuriant draught of na- 
ture, we had examined one 
of the most singular relics 
of very ancient art. On 
the side of a lofty hill 
is the " Logan Stone " — 
about twenty-four feet in 
circumference. The pea- 
sants call it the " Balance 

Rock," and it is doubtless a Druidical remain of remote antiquity. Moore likens 
it to the Poet's Heart, which 

" The slightest touch alone sets moving, 
But all earth's power could not shake from its base." 

From near this stone (to be reached by a bye-path, and with some caution in 
treading over the moss and bog) a most magnificent view is to be obtained of the 
Upper Lake on the one side, and of the whole of Coom Dhuv on the other. Stephen 
knows the spot well where the prospect is the grandest and most beautiful ; and 
moreover he knows the safest path by which it is to be reached; it is a " short cut," 
that is to say by far " the longest way round ; " but the detour will be rich in 
compensation for the labour. 




THE " LOGAN STONE. 



162 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



Leaving " the Black Valley," with the white cataract that crowns it, the Tourist 
passes through "Lord Brandon's demesne*; " and having found his boat waiting in 
one of the sweet and lonely creeks of which there are here so many, he takes his 
seat, and prepares for pleasure of a less fatiguing character — the oars rapidly 
convey him through the Upper Lake. 

And now let him leisurely look around him. He is in the midst of mountains 
— bleak and barren, but mighty in their magnificence, t 

" Abrupt and sheer the mountains sink, 
At once upon the level brink, 
And just a trace of silver sand 
Marks where the water meets the land." 

Their dark shadows are thrown upon the water, so as to give to it a character of 
gloom, in perfect keeping with the loneliness of the scene. One feels as if the 
sound of a human voice would disturb its solitude , and wishes the oars, that row 
him over the Lake, were muffled. He passes along by the small islands : neither 
of them tempt him to land, unless it may be Kossburkie, to look for the tree round 
which the milkmaid tied the span eel. J Here are Arbutus Island, Eagle Island, 

* Lord Brandon, who built a cottage here, and also an imitation of the Eound Tower, has long 
ceased to own any property in the neighbourhood. The place, however, still bears his name. 

f " To my mind," says Inglis, " the Upper Lake is the most attractive ; the mountains are 
nearest to it ; it has not one tame feature." " Once fairly embarked on its waters," writes 
Windele, "and looking back, the illusion of its being altogether land-locked, and enclosed 
without any opening, or mode of egress, seems nearly complete." " On entering the Upper 
Lake " (we now quote from Weld), " attention is at first wholly engaged by the vastness ]of the 
mountains, and next by the extreme ruggedness of the scene." 

$ " She was milking the cows just as the sun was rising. A fine early little girl she was, 
rowing her boat and her pails with her own hands to the Island, before the dew was off the grass, 
or the birds awake, and singing — for she had a light heart, — singing like a thrush ; when all of 
a sudden, as she turned her head, what should she see but a crock of shining gold, under a tree 
just at her elbow. Keeping her eyes on it, she walked over, stooped down, and, to make sure 
that what she saw, poor thing, was no bewitchment, she took up two of the pieces, and dropped 
them into her bosom : she tried to lift the crock, but it was too heavy for her entirely ; so to 
make sure of the spot she took the spancel off the cow she was milking, and tied it round the tree, 
then ran off to her boat, determined to bring her friends to help her home with her treasure ; 
the last thing she did when she took up the oars to row to the mainland was to look back at the 
crock, and there it was — the deludher — smiling and shining in the sunbeams. Well, when she 
got home she told what she had seen, and one looked at the other, until she gave her mother the 
two gold pieces ; and then father and mother, and brothers and sisters, all crowded into the boat, 
and maybe they did'nt pull hard and fast to reach the Island. ' There's the spancel ! ' shouted 
the girl, pointing to the nearest tree; ' there's the spancel ! ' and sure enough there was a spancel. 
' jS"o/ said her brother, ' there's the spancel.' ' Uot at all ! ' exclaimed her mother, ' it's on that 
tree.' ' I wish,' put in her father, ' that you'd all hold your nonsense, here it is round the Rowan 
tree.' The poor gold-finder looked bewildered ; and well she might, for round every tree in the 



THE LONG RANGE. THE EAGLE'S NEST. 163 



McCarthy's Island, Duck Island, Stag Island, Ronan's Island, and the Knight of 
Kerry's Island.* We must refer him to the Guide for the origin, real or fanciful, 
of each name. That called after the heir of the Kerry Geraldines, however, we 
believe actually belongs to him, although he has no other acre of property in this 
neighbourhood. 

Passing the " big " promontory called " Coleman's Eye," — and so called after a 
giant, a saint, or an English gentleman, — it is uncertain which — he enters " the 
Long Range." But before he arrives there, he will often look back. The 
mountains, between which lies " the Gap," are directly behind him ; to the left are 
the " tails " of the Purple Mountain ; to the right is rugged Cromagloun ; all about 
him the mountains rise from the lake, and seem as if they would shut him in for 
ever. To convey an idea of the rude magnificence of this scene is impossible. 
Presently its savage grandeur is passed ; and we enter the realm of Beauty. The 
stream carries us rapidly homeward. It is running through the Long Range ; and 
the men have merely to guide the boat.t 

The channel is full of interest and beauty ; the water is clear and rapid ; and on 
either side it is amply wooded ; " patrician trees " happily mingling with " plebeian 
underwood," through which glimpses of the huge mountains are occasionally caught. 
About midway, in " the Long Range," we reach the far-famed Eagle's Nest — the 
most perfect, glorious, and exciting of all the Killarney echoes. The rock (for in 



island a spancel was fastened. Then she asked her mother to show the two gold pieces she had 
given her, and the poor woman pulled them out, and laid them on the palm of her hand, that they 
might all see them : but in less than a minute, while their very eyes were on them, ihey were 
changed into dry leaves, and whirled off her hand by a light breeze ; while from every tree in the 
Island rose a laugh so merry and so full of fun and mischief, that, overcome as they were, they 
could hardly help laughing themselves." 

* There are about twelve islands in the Upper Lake ; some of them, however, are islands only 
in summer. Eonan's Island is the largest. It was so called, according to Mr. Weld, from an 
enthusiastic Englishman, who, " liking the situation," made it his home, and lived for some years 
the life of a recluse here, avoiding all society, and seldom leaving the island, except to shoot or 
fish, by which he procured his chief sustenance. 

f Sails are very rarely seen on the Lake. They are at all times dangerous, in consequence of 
the frequent occurrence of wind and squalls. " A gentleman living near Killarney, who had 
often crossed the ocean, assured me he had more than once beheld it so much agitated by the 
hurricanes which descend in circling eddies through the passes between the mountains, that the 
waves, drifted together, and raised to an immense height above the surface, assumed the terrific 
aspect of a waterspout." — Weld. Such incidents are by no means uncommon. We ourselves 
followed one of these singular " circling eddies " for above a mile along the road : every now and 
then it ran, as it were, round a heap of dried leaves and bits of stick, which it elevated twenty or 
thirty feet, tossed about in a whimsical manner, and scattered about the fields. The people of 
course attribute this singularity to the fairies, and it requires little imagination to believe some 
invisible supernatural power at work. 



164 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



comparison with the mountains that look down upon it, it is nothing more, although, 
when at its base, it appears of prodigious height) derives its name from the fact 
that, for centuries, it has been the favoured residence of the royal birds, by whose 
descendants it is still inhabited ; their eyry being secured by nature against all 




THE EAGLE'S NEST. 

human trespassers.* The rock is of a pyramidical form, exactly 1103 feet high, 



* The peasants relate several amusing stories of attempts to rob the " Aigle's Nest ; " and 
many feats are detailed of the efforts of daring mountaineers to make property of the royal 
progeny. The Boatmen tell an illustrative anecdote, of a " vagabone " soldier, " who says, says 
he, ' I'll go bail I'll rob it/ says he. ' Maybe you will, and maybe you won't,' says the aigle ; and 
with that she purtinded to fly off wid herself. So the sodger, when he sees that, lets himself down 
by a long rope he had with him ; and, ' I have ye now by your sharp noses, every mother's son of 
ye,' says he. When all of a sudden, out comes the ould aigle, from a thunder cloud, and says very 
civilly, says she, ' Good morrow, sir,' says she ; ' and what brings ye to visit my fine family so 
airly, before they've had their break'ast 1 ' says she. * Oh, nothing at all,' says the sodger, who 
ye see was grately frightened ; ' only to ax after their health, ma'am,' says he, ' and if e'r a one 
of 'em has the tooth-ache, for which I've a spacific that I brought wid me in my pocket from 
furrin parts.' ' Ye brought some blarney in the other pocket then/ says the aigle, ' for don't I 
know ye came to stale mee childre 1 ' ' Honour bright/ says the sodger, ' do ye think I'd be 
doing sich a mane thing ! ' ' I'll lave it to a neighbour o'mine whether ye did or no/ says the 
aigle. So wid that, she bawls out at the top of her voice, ' Did he come to rob the aigle's nest ] ' 
In coorse the echo made answer ' To rob the aigle's nest.' — ' Hear to that, ye thieving blacguard !' 
says the aigle ; ' and take that home wid ye/ giving him a sthroke wid her bake betune the two 
eyes, that sent him rowling into the lake — and I'll go ball none of his progenitors ever went to 
rob an aigle's nest after that day." 



THE ECHOES. 165 



thickly clothed with evergreens, but bare towards the summit ; where the nest of 
the bird is pointed out, in a small crevice nearly concealed by stunted shrubs. We 
put into a little creek on the opposite side of the river ; but remained in our boat, 
having been recommended to do so. Our expectations of the coming treat had been 
highly raised, and we were in breathless anxiety to enjoy it. The bugle-player, 
Spillane — of whose skill and attention we gladly add our testimony to that of every 
traveller who has preceded us — landed, advanced a few steps, and placed the instru- 
ment to his lips : the effect was magical — the word conveys a poor idea of its effect. 
First he played a single note — it was caught, up and repeated, loudly, softly, — again 
loudly, again softly, and then as if by a hundred instruments, each a thousand 
times more musical than that which gave its rivals birth, twirling and twisting 
around the mountain, running up from its foot to its summit, then rolling above it, 
and at length dying away in the distance until it was heard as a mere whisper, 
barely audible, far away. Then Spillane blew a few notes — ti-ra-la-ti-ra-la : a 
multitude of voices, seemingly from a multitude of hills, at once sent forth a reply ; 
sometimes pausing for a second, as if waiting for some tardy comrade to join in the 
marvellous chorus, then mingling together in a strain of sublime grandeur, and 
delicate sweetness, utterly indescribable. Again Spillane sent forth his summons 
to the mountains, and blew, for perhaps a minute, a variety of sounds ; the effect 
was indeed that of " enchanting ravishment " — giving 

" Resounding grace to all Heaven's harmonies." 

It is impossible for language to convey even a remote idea of the exceeding 
delight communicated by this development of a most wonderful property of 
Nature : sure we are that we shall be guilty of no exaggeration if we say, that this 
single incident, among so many of vast attraction, will be sufficient recompense to 
the Tourist who may visit these beautiful lakes. When Spillane had exhausted 
his ability to minister to our enjoyment — and the day was declining before we 
had expressed ourselves content — preparations were made for firing off the 
cannon. As soon as they were completed, the match was applied. In an instant 
every mountain for miles round us seemed instinct with angry life, and replied in 
voices of thunder to the insignificant and miserable sound that had roused them 
from their slumbers. The imagination was excited to absolute terror j the gnomes 
of the mountains were about to issue forth and punish the mortals who had dared 
to rouse them from their solitude : and it was easy for a moment to fancy every 
creek and crevice peopled with " airy things." The sound was multiplied a thou- 
sand-fold, and with infinite variety ; at first it was repeated with a terrific growl ; 
then a fearful crash ; both were caught up and returned by the surrounding hills, 
mingling together, now in perfect harmony, now in utter discordance ; awhile 
those that were nearest became silent, awaiting the on-coming of those that were 



1GG 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



distant ; then joining together in one mighty sound, louder and louder ; then 
dropping to a gentle lull, as if the winds only created them • then breaking forth 
again into a combined roar that would seem to have been heard hundreds of miles 
away.* It is not only by these louder sounds the echoes of the hills are 
awakened ; the clapping of a hand will call them forth ; almost a whisper will be 
repeated — far off — ceasing — resuming — ceasing again. The most eloquent 
poet of our age has happily expressed the idea we desire to convey : — 

" A solitary wolf-dog, ranging on, 
Through the bleak concave, wakes this wondrous chime 

Of airy voices lock'd in unison, — 
Faint — far off-— near — deep — solemn and sublime." 

About a mile from the " Eagle's Nest " is the old Weir Bridge, a bridge of two 
arches, only one of which affords a passage for boats, and through this the water of 
the Upper Lake rushes into the other lakes on its way, through the Laune, to the sea. 
The current is exceedingly 

rapid, and it is usual for tour- .^= r= __._ -^j=jm£^iZ^i ~-- "'- - c '-~ 

ists to disembark and walk 

across the isthmus, meeting : % 

the boat on the other side, the 
passage being considered one 
of much danger to persons 
who are either easily alarmed 
or indisposed to take the ad- 
vice of the boatmen, — " Plase 
to sit quiet." Mr. Roche, 
who acted as our helmsman, 
was, however, anxious to try 
the strength of our nerves, as well as to exhibit one of the Killarney lions in its 




OLD WEIR BRIDGE. 



* " We gazed at the wood, the rock, and the river, with alternate hope and fear ; and we 
expected with a pleasing impatience, some very marvellous event. * * * Angels from the 
sky, or fairies from the mountain, or O'Donaghue from the river, we every moment expected to 
appear before us."— Ockenden (1760.) " Our single French horn had the harmony of a full 
concert, and one discharge of our little piece of cannon was multiplied into a thousand reports ; 
with this addition, that when the sounds seemed faint, and almost expiring, they revived again, 
and then gradually subsided. It equals the most tremendous thunder."— Derrick (1760.) 
" Each explosion awakes a succession of echoes, resembling peals of thunder, varying in number 
and intensity according to the state of the atmosphere." — Windele. " Our imagination endues 
the mountains with life, and to their attributes of magnitude, and silence, and solitude, we for a 
moment add the power of listening and a voice." — Inglis. " The mountains seem bursting with 
the crash — now it rolls, peal upon peal, through their craggy hollows, till at length, dying away 
in the distance, all seems over : hark ! it rises again ; other mountains mimic the thunder, and 



OLD WEIR BRIDGE. GLENA COTTAGE. 



167 



wrath and power, shaking its mane in angry vigour ; he, therefore, gave us no 
warning until we were actually within the fierce current. We shot through it with 
frightful rapidity ; and it was evident that a very small deviation either to the 
right or the left would have flung us among the breakers, the result of which must 
inevitably have been fatal. The men, who had rested on their oars, were watching 
us with some anxiety, and the moment we were in safety they woke the echoes 
with a loud shout, and congratulated us on our " bowldness." We can claim but 
little merit for our heroism ; for, in reality, there is no peril in the " voyage : " 




THE COTTAGE AT GLENA. 



and we had forgotten the disasters that Mr. Weld records, and to which Derrick 
made reference half a century before him. 

At Dinis Pool the current divides ; one branch, to the right, enters Tore 
Lake ; the other, to the left, runs between Dinis Island and Glena mountain, and 
joins the Lower Lake at the Bay of Glena — beautiful Glena. 

There is, we think, nothing at Killarney, where nature is everywhere charming 
to absolute fascination, to equal this surpassingly lovely spot. The mountain of 
Glena, clothed to luxuriance with the richest evergreens, looks down upon a little 
vale endowed with the rarest natural gifts, and which the hand of taste has 
touched here and there, without impairing its primitive character. Glena, a name 



now it is lost in a low growl among the distant hills." — Croker. " It is scarcely in the power 
of language to convey an idea of the extraordinary effect of the echoes under this cliff, 
whether they repeat the dulcet notes of music, or the loud discordant report of a cannon. 
Enchantment here appears to have resumed her reign, and those who listen are lost in amaze- 
ment and delight." — Weld. 



168 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



that signifies " the glen of good fortune," is the property of Lord Kenmare, whose 
lady has built a cottage-ornee in this delicious valley ; it is in happy keeping with 
the beautiful and graceful scene, and the walks and gardens that surround it are 
so formed and disposed as in no degree to deduct from its simple beauty. Here, 
also, a pretty and convenient cottage has been erected for the accommodation of 
strangers : it is placed in one of the forest glades, close to the shore. 

Here, then, let us end our Third Day's Tour. For although, probably, those 
who must make the most of time may even yet be enabled before nightfall to row 
round Tore Lake, among the island-rocks in Castle Lough Bay, and even to enter 
and examine, briefly, Inisfallen and Ross, — we trust that comparatively few will be 
compelled to crush two days into one, and consequently sacrifice to fatigue the 
enjoyment that may be derived from both. 

Now, then, we are journeying homewards — homewards from Glen^ — beautiful 
Glena ! It is " a good step " to Roche's, and a long way to the Victoria, But stay 
— the boatmen may not yet " pull out," for Spillane must have a word or two with 
Glena, — his " pet " of all the mountains ! Who could weary of such words, so 
answered % To Spillane, who has awakened them a thousand times, it is still a 
labour of love ; and the boatmen, to whom the aerial voices are familiar as 
domestic sounds, gladly rest upon their oars to hear them once again ! 





38 



vV 






s 






§1 




THE FOURTH DAY'S TOUR, 

THE ISLANDS AND SHORES OF THE LOWER LAKE. 

This day we spend among the islands and along the shores 
of the Lower Lake ; taking a row round Tore ; awakening 
the echoes of the old mountain ; and, resting the oars off 
many a well-known spot, holding converse with far-famed 
"Paddy Blake." The labour of to-day will not be 
severe ; the remainder of our tour about Killarney we 
can make easily, and by " short stages." Indeed tour- 
ists whose time is limited may, when the third day 
closes in, consider the lakes to have been visited, 
and prepare for a journey homewards or elsewhere. But many, we hope, will 

M 



170 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



be less hurried, and will give a whole day to " the Shores and Islands." * 
Leaving the " Herbert Arms," the Tourist should first row among the small 
island-rocks in Castle-Lough Bay, the bay in which he will enter Roche's boat, 
and be consigned to the care of four as civil and obliging " Kerry-boys " as 
ever told a legend or believed one. All about him are odd-looking rocks and pretty 
islets ; some so bare, that not a blade of grass grows over them ; others so thick 
with foliage, that, literally, you see nothing but a clump of trees rising out of 
the water, and sometimes little more than the topmost branches of these very trees 
are visible. There are in this Castle-Lough Bay just "a baker's dozen," and 
very pretty they look j but there is no one of them that will recompense a landing. 
At Castle-Lough however, we must pause a moment. The castle perished in the 
wars of 1652. So completely was it destroyed, that scarcely one stone was left 
standing on another. Barely sufficient now remains to point out its locality. It 
may have been of importance, from its position, but never could have been of 
any extent. North of Castle-Lough Bay, the Flesk runs into the lake ; passing 
by the grounds of Cahirnane. It has voyaged a long way, to help the waters at 
Killarney.t 

Having rowed sufficiently among these pretty islets, we pass under the bridge 
that connects Boss with the mainland, and proceed to "the Quay." In very 
dry or in very rainy weather, however, this small channel is impassable : in the 
one case the water will have left it, and in the other will have choked up the 
passage ; we shall then have to go round a couple of miles. Those who are located 
at the Victoria will probably proceed to visit the islands by a different course ; for 
the boat-house of the hotel lies about a mile almost due north of the Bay.J 

Here, however, at Boss Island, and immediately under the castle, let us first 
land — at the convenient quay built by Lord Kenmare. Before we look at the 

* It is of course impossible to leave Killarney without visiting two of the places we are about 
to describe — the islands of Inisfallen and Ross. But opportunities for so doing must be watched 
for. They are close to the Victoria, and not far from Roche's, and probably will be visited on 
the evening of arrival ; or it will not be very difficult to examine them on the evening of the 
third day, after leaving " the Long Range." 

f The Flesk river, with its bridge of twenty-one arches, has many legends and tales connected 
with its rambles through the glens. A short time ago, in Glen Flesk, it overflowed its banks so 
suddenly that, they tell you, a tailor, who was at work in a cottage, found the table he was sitting 
on floating before he was aware of the rising of the waters. He was a brave tailor ; and by great 
exertions managed to save his employer's three children, their parents having gone to Killarney. 
A cat, who was asleep upon a straw circular seat, usually called " a boss," was borne into the 
current before she was aware of her danger, and floated about for four or five days ; she was at 
last rescued from her perilous situation near Cloghreen, and treated with much consideration — 
bearing, as the peasantry believed, a "charmed life." 

X Here is a list of all the rocks and islands in the Lower Lake, beginning with the most 



CASTLE OF ROSS. — ISLANDS IN LOWER LAKE. 



171 



old castle, let us walk through the gardens and round the island ; but — will the 
visitor believe us ? — he will have paced no less than two miles before he arrives at 
this garden-gate again.* ^=^ 

•Koss, as we have explained, is 
more properly a peninsula than 
an island, being separated from 
the mainland only by a narrow 
cut through a morass, which it is 
more than probable was a work of 
art, with a view to strengthen the 
fortifications of the castle, The 
island, for so it must now be 
termed, is the largest island of 
the lake. It contains about eighty 
Plantation acres, richly and luxu- 
riantly cultivated ; a portion of 
it is converted into a graceful 
and carefully kept flower-garden, 
where seats are placed so as to 
command the more striking and 
picturesque views \ and in every part Nature has been so judiciously trained and 
guided, that the whole scene is one of surpassing beauty. The castle is a fine 
remain ; much less injured by time than the majority of its co-mates in Kerry 




ROSS CASTLE. 



northerly, Brown or Rabbit Island, and so descending to the most southerly, Sugar Island : the 
reader will of course ascertain their relative positions by looking at the map. 



1. Brown or Eabbit Island. 

2. Lamb Island. 

3. Heron Island. 

4. O'Donaghue's Prison. 

5. Cherry Island. 

6. Inisfallen. 

7. Mouse Island. 

8. Ross Island. 

(All north of Ross Bay.) 



20. Osprey Rock. 

21. Friar's Island. 

(All in Castle Lough Bay. 

22. Gun Rock. 

23. Otter Rock. 

24. Darby's Garden. 

25. Burnt Island. 

26. Stag Island. 

27. Drinking Horse. 



9. Rough Island. 

10. Hen and Chickens. 

11. Pigeon Island. 

12. O'Donaghue's Table. 

13. Cow Island. 

14. Elephant Rock. 

15. Jackdaw Island. 

16. Crow Island. 

17. Yew Island. 
19. Ash Island. 

There are about half a dozen others that have names ; such are Gunnet Rock, Tom Cole's Rock, 
Currig-a-hocca Rock, and Alexander Rock. Brickeen Island and Dinis Island stand between 
Tore Lake and the Lower Lake ; they belong properly to neither of the two Lakes ; but if to 
either they must be assigned, we should give them to Tore, as being the property of Mr. Herbert. 

* It is just under Ross Castle that " Paddy Blake " must be talked to : Paddy Blake, the 
famous Echo, that, when you ask him, " How d'ye do, Paddy Blake 1 " makes instant answer 
" Pretty well, I thank ye." At certain times it is the clearest of all the lake echoes. 

m2 



172 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



county. It is a tall square embattled building, based upon a limestone rock, sustained 
at the land side by a plain massive buttress ; from the north-east and north-west 
angles project two machicolated defences. It contains a spiral staircase of cut stone. 
It was erected by one of the earlier chieftains of the Donaghues.* It forms a 
conspicuous feature in the landscape from every part of the Lower Lake. During 
the war, the out-buildings were fitted up as a barrack. The castle is famous in 
Irish history as being the last in Munster to hold out against the Parliamentary 
army. In 1 652, Ludlow, the successor of Ireton, assisted by Sir Hardress Waller, 
laid siege to it. It was defended by Lord Muskerry with a sufficiency of troops, 
and an ample supply of provisions ; yet the castle, so well prepared for defence, 
surrendered upon articles, without striking a vigorous blow. The circumstance is 
attributable to the terror that seized upon the garrison when they beheld war-ships 
floating on the lake, in fulfilment of an ancient prophecy, which foretold that the 
castle could be taken only when an event occurred — almost as improbable as that 
" Birnam Forest " should come " to Dunsinane." Although it is very unlikely 
that Ludlow had heard of this tradition, or would have heeded it if he had, it is 
certain that, having considered it wisest to attack the castle by water, he had 
constructed boats for the purpose ; " and," as he says, " when we had received our 
boats, each of which was capable of containing one hundred and twenty men, I 
ordered one of them to be rowed about, in order to find out the most convenient 
place for landing upon the enemy, which they perceiving, thought fit, by a timely 
submission, to prevent the danger that threatened them." General Ludlow does 
not explain how the boats were conveyed into the lakes ; and so great must have 
been the difficulty of transporting them from any distant part, covered as this dis- 



* Of course the several legends connected with the name of the O'Donaghue have their 
source in this, his castle of Ross. The peasantry will point out the window from which he 
leaped into the lake when he exchanged his sovereignty on earth for that of the waters under it. 
He was endowed, they say, with the gift of transforming himself into any shape, and his wife 
requested him to exhibit some of his transformations before her. He warned her that if he did 
so, and she displayed any symptoms of fear, they would be separated for ever. She still per- 
sisted in the spirit of female curiosity, and in perfect confidence that she could look on unmoved. 
On his assuming, however, some very terrible shape, she shrieked with terror. He immediately 
sprang from the window into the lake below, and remains there an enchanted spirit ; his enchant- 
ment to continue until, by his brief annual ride, his silver shoes are worn out by the attrition of 
the surface of the water. Of the race of the O'Donaghues, " the Annals of Inisfallen" have furnished 
various particulars, which give a pretty clear insight into the character of gone-by times, when 
" might made right," and illustrate the utter insecurity of life and property, that kept the 
" petty kings " always armed lesfc the stronger should come and strip them. From the year 
1024 to 1238, of the "Kings of Locha Lein," nineteen out of twenty were "slain;" some in 
open fight, some by treachery, and some having been previously driven out of their territories. 
The last item in the dismal account stands thus : — " Jeoffrey Donaghue, and Saova, daughter of 




^ 



<f 



r 



ROSS ISLAND. ITS WALKS AND GARDENS. 



173 



trict of Ireland then was with bog and forests, that the boat has been generally 
considered to have been nothing more than a raft. An accident enabled us to 
remove all doubts on the subject. 

In the wall of the ancient church of St. Multose, at Kinsale, we discovered an 
old tomb, partly concealed by rubbish ; and learned that this division of the struc- 
ture had, until very lately, been blocked up by heaps of stone and mortar. The 
inscription on a wooden panel, almost rotted away, and fixed immediately over the 
grave, was in Latin. The word " Kerria " excited our curiosity ; and, on clear- 
ing the stone, we were amply rewarded for our labour.* 

As we have observed, from all parts of the lake, and from every one of the 
adjacent mountains, 
the castle of Ross is 
a most interesting 
and attractive point 
in the scenery ; and 
it amply repays the 
honour it receives 
by enabling the vi- 
sitor to obtain, from 
the summit of its 
tower, a command- 
ing view of every 
important object by 
which it is sur- 
rounded. An hour 
passsed in walking 
round the island 
will be an hour 

pleasantly and profitably spent ; and curiosity may be gratified by inspecting the 
surface of the famous copper mine, the debris of which is scattered in profusion 




ROSS CASTLE. 



Douchad Cairbrfiach O'Brien, his wife, as also his brother and his three sons, burned in his house 
at the garden of the Greenford, by Fineen M'Donnell Gud, being betrayed by his own huntsman." 
Among the " fierce leaders of battles," nevertheless, there were a few distinguished as " gentle at 
arms ;" and some who " never forsook the muse." This list, however, which gives so dark a 
picture of the age, refers to the ODonaghue of the Glens, and not to the ancestors of the spirit 
chieftain. Yet the milder branch has altogether withered and vanished ; while of the " turbu- 
lent," "the ruthless," the " proud and stern in battle," the representative still exists. 
* The following is a translation of the epitaph : — 

" Here, with his father, lies Thomas, by surname Ohudleigh. 
For the kings of the English both built ships. 

The 



174 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



upon the western shore ; among them are several huge portions of a steam-engine 
— the first, we believe, ever introduced into Ireland. When opened by Colonel 
Hall in 1 804, he obtained unequivocal proof that they had been worked previously ; 
but at a period very remote, and when mining, as an art, was utterly unknown.* 



The father's skill was uncommon : alas ! alas ! his life was short. 

He caused a ship to sail on the land ; 

That the ship did sail on the land Kerry well knows, 

The tower of Eoss taken with difficulty proves. 

Proceed, Muse, I implore ; study to sing the praises of the son. 

He was very ingenious, skilled in the same art. 

He huilt a ship for the King to which Kinsale gives a name : 

He built, but to another great praise was given ; 

He built this, I say, reader, though another bore away the honours. 

Thus, for another, not for itself, the vine affords sweet grapes ; 

Thus, for another, not for himself, the horse bears heavy burdens ; 

Thus, for another, not for himself, the dog courses over the plains ; 

Thus for another, not for herself, the ship herself sails the seas." 
The descendants of the ship -builder are still living, and the name of the ship of war, " the 
Kinsale," appears in the old Navy Lists. 

* The Mines. It will be impossible to visit Killarney without hearing perpetually of the 
Mines. The history of Eoss Mine, is thus given in " Croker's Eesearches in the South of 
Ireland : " — " About the year 1804, Colonel Hall, an English officer, who had been some time 
quartered at Killarney (with a regiment he had raised in his own county of Devon), conceiving 
a favourable opinion of Eoss Mine, induced one or two gentlemen in the vicinity to join him in 
reopening it. Having succeeded in clearing out the water and rubbish, the little company were 
encouraged by the flattering appearances to proceed to work it ; which they did on rather an 
extensive scale, notwithstanding the unfavourable circumstances of its situation, nearly close to 
the lake, the ground not rising much above, and dipping towards it at an angle about thirty degrees 
from the horizon ; so that in a short time the workmen had excavated completely under the lake, 
with every fear of its waters breaking in on them. The richness and abundance of the ore was, 
however, a sufficient inducement to counteract this danger and inconvenience, as, during the four 
years that Eoss Mine was worked, nearly 30,000?. worth of copper was disposed of at Swansea, 
some cargoes producing 40?. per ton. But this very richness was the ultimate cause of its 
destruction, as several small veins of pure oxide of copper split off from the main lode, and ran 
towards the surface. The ore of these veins was much more valuable than the other, consequently 
the miners (who were paid by quality as well as quantity) pursued the smaller veins so near the 
surface, that the water broke through into the mine in such an overwhelming degree, that an 
engine of thirty horse power could make no sensible impression on the inundation ; and thus a 
forcible stop was put to all further proceedings." 

The late Col. Hall (the father of the authors of this work) discovered and opened no fewer than 
thirteen mines in the south of Ireland. Some of these he worked for a considerable period ; and, 
although his efforts were in the end unsuccessful, he set an example of enterprise and activity, 
and supplied evidence of the vast mineral wealth of the country, which entitle us to claim for him 
some tribute of public gratitude, and justify us in classing him among the benefactors of Ireland. 
He was amongst the earliest of those who laboured to turn to account its great natural resources — 



LEGENDS OF THE o'DONAGHUE. 175 



During our recent visit we found that the island had undergone great improve- 
ments. Portions allotted to most delicious flowers are succeeded by lawns and 
shrubberies, prairie and wood, the noble ruin of the O'Donaghue giving an air of 
magnificence to the whole ; so that it seems like some fairy enchantment — the 
island in itself containing a sufficiency of beauty, without looking to the lake or 
mountains beyond. What visions too of old, old times, crowd the memory, when 
pennon and banner floated on the breeze, — when the glen chief received homage 
and tribute within those walls upon which the green ivy clusters, — when abbot 
and knight passed through the portal, and the mountains echoed the war-pipe or 
the shout of joyous revellers ! 

A visit to Eoss Island naturally suggests a consideration of the legends of the 
O'Donaghue — the most fertile topic of interest connected with the Lakes. We 
shall therefore delay the reader while we relate some of the most striking. 

Wander where you will in this delicious neighbourhood, either up the mountain, 
along the valleys, upon the water, or in any one of the islands, you are sure to find 
some object connected with the Legend ; every rock of unusual form is forced into 
an illustration of the story ; the guides and boatmen will point out to the Tourist 
O'Donaghue's horse,* O'Donaghue's prison, his stable, his library, his pigeon-house, 
his table, his cellar, his honeycombs, his pulpit, and his broom. 

Although its variations are numerous, the original story may be told in a few 
words. In ages long past, O'Donaghue of Ross was lord of the lake, its islands, 
and the land that surrounded it. His sway was just and generous, and his reign 
propitious ; he was the sworn foe of the oppressor ; he was brave, hospitable, and 
wise. Annually, since his death, or rather disappearance, he is said to revisit the 
pleasant places among which he lived — 

" So sweet is still the breath 
Of the fields and the flowers in our youth we wander'd o'er." 

Every May morning he may be seen gliding over the lake mounted on a white 



to encourage men of larger means — men who will probably reap the rich harvest for which it 
was his destiny only to prepare the ground, and to direct public attention to a source of profit for 
the undertakers, and of employment for the people. Like many others who have pointed out the 
way to fortune, it was his fate to behold the achievement of his hopes only from a very remote dis- 
tance ; but he enjoyed the enviable knowledge that his labour had not been in vain ; that he had 
been the means of spending some hundreds of thousands of pounds in the country ; of giving 
advantageous employment to masses of the people in various districts, and of showing how others 
might certainly do that which he, as certainly, failed of doing. 

* Unhappily, the horse is gone ; no doubt there will be a " laagend " to account for his 
disappearance; but in sober truth it must be said that the frost of the winter, 1849, undermined 
his constitution, and he sunk- with O'Donaghue into the lake. We have thought it right, 
however, to preserve the only portrait that exists of this time-honoured steed. 



17G 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



steed, richly caparisoned, preceded and followed by youths and maidens, who strew 
spring flowers in his way ; while sounds of unearthly sweetness glide along the 




THE LEGEND OF DONAGHUE. 



waters, and become thunder as they make their way up the surrounding hills. 
Although he appears in state only on May morning — 

" For when the last April sun grows dim 
The Naiads prepare his steed for him, 
Who dwells, bright Lake, in thee," — 

he is seen on various other occasions : and lucky is the child of earth by whom the 
immortal spirit is encountered ; for be he peer or peasant, good fortune is sure to 
wait upon him — and therefore many are they who peer with longing eyes along 
the lake, at sunrise or in twilight, to catch a glimpse of the chieftain, and listen 
with eager ears for the music that heralds his approach. 

We have said that many living witnesses are ready to testify to the appearance 
of the O'Donaghue, either riding upon the lake, walking on the shore, or playing 
" hurly " upon the surface of the waters ; and we have conversed with so many of 
them, of credit and repute, that we can have no hesitation in believing them to 
have actually beheld that which they affirm they have "seen with their two eyes." 
The circumstance, however, is now easily accounted for : although, a few years ago, 
it was impossible to consider it otherwise than supernatural. The legend, told in 



LEGENDS. DONAGHUE S HORSE. 



177 



so many ways, is a fertile source of amusement to visitors. Every rock of the 
Lower Lake is in some way or other associated with it : the most remarkable of 
these rocks is " O'Donaghue's Horse," of which the accompanying print will convey 




O DONAGHUE S HORSE. 



an accurate idea ; although from some points of view it bears a much closer 
resemblance to the form of the animal whose name it bears. We were the more 
desirous of preserving a copy of this natural wonder ; for, its base being nearly 
undermined by the continual action of the water, it is not likely it can long remain 
on the comparatively slender props that now sustain it. In a few years the 
" horse " may be an inmate of the chieftain's stable under the waves ; but he will 
cease to be an object of interest and attraction to the dwellers upon earth. The 
guides and boatmen have all, of course, " had a sight " of the chieftain, and will 
tell the Tourist amusing stories — but those they have only heard — of their 
ancestors, who not only saw, but conversed with him, and shared his hospitality in 
his palace below the waves. 

Our guide directed our attention to a scene of surpassing beauty, and exclaimed, 
" That's the place, and a beautiful place it is — a place that any country may be 
proud of. I've seen people that would float beneath the shadow of those mountain 
woods for a whole summer day, and then return again in the twilight, and wait to 
see the moon rise, and then stay out until she had nearly finished her rounds in 
the heavens. I don't like it," added Sir Richard, shaking his head, " I don't at all 
like it ; the lakes are mighty lonely, and even along the shores you seldom hear 
the song of a bird, or any living noise except the belling of the deer. It's a 
lonesome place without the company of one's own kind — though I'm not saying 
that's the best one might have in it — still, it's mighty lonesome in itself." 



178 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



" There's a spot somewhere about this mountain of Glena, is there not, called 
< The Lady's Leap 2 ' " 

" There is ; and some say it is that point, and others say it is this one, just above 
us, pushing out there through the trees." 

" Do you know the legend 1 " 

" Oh, that's no laigend at all — not the sort of thing Sir Richard do be making 
to amuse the strangers ! " said one of the boatmen ; " but as thrue as that the 
heavens are above us. Everybody knows that the lady who made the leap was 
never afterwards seen upon earth, any way." 

The legend we gathered from the various versions of our guide and boatmen is 
this : — Long, long ago it was, that a beautiful young lady lived out yonder, in an 
old ancient castle, which, like many a fine place that was among the hills, and in 
the glens of Ireland, isn't there now. She was more lovely to look upon than all 
the other fair daughters of Kerry — bright as a sunbeam, gentle as a dove, light- 
footed as a white roe ; her hair was darker than midnight, and her young heart 
spotless as snow when falling ; her voice was so full of music that the bards used to 
listen, and echo it upon their harps, then throw them aside in despair, and call them 
tuneless ; the poor blessed her as she passed them, for she came of a generous race, 
and added fresh glory to their names ; and the rich honoured her, though she did 
not honour them because of their riches. She was the only child of her father ; and 
when he said, " Oh, my daughter, wilt thou not choose for thyself from amongst 
the princes of Erin one to be a protector and friend to thee, and a father to my 
people when I am gone 1 " she turned the light of her bright blue eyes away from 
her father's face, and wept. It seemed as if, with the power of making all hearts 
love her, she thought not of love towards man, but closed her heart against all 
earthly affection. Upon this, the holy people, priests and nuns, said, " The fair 
maiden will be one of us, — she has no love for the vanities of the world." But the 
more experienced among them answered, " Not so : behold the fashioning of her 
robes, their varied colours ; and see the blue of her mantle, the curious embroidery, 
and needle-work, and the jewels that glitter on her brow and in her hair : those 
who think of cloisters do not delight in gauds." There was only one among her 
maidens — Una, of the raven locks — that kept silence, and opened not her lips ; 
the others called their mistress a second Bridget, and chattered of how they would 
not use their lovers so — if they had them ; but Una, her chosen follower, her 
humble friend, made no comment ; thinking, doubtless, like all of quiet tongue, 
so much the more. Now every one knew that wherever her lady went, Una 
followed ; and the two maidens would wander days and nights together along the 
borders of the lakes. Sometimes Una would cany her lady's harp ; and when the 
fishermen heard their voices in conversation or music, they would row far from 
them, respecting them too much to disturb their retirement. Sometimes the lady 



UNA AND O'DONAGHUE. 179 



would sit in her boat, which was lined with purest gold, and Una would row her 
along the silvery lines traced by the moonbeams on the waters ; and the lady 
would play and sing in that lonely way, until the first rays of morning warned 
her that the night was past. The month of April drew near its end, and when the 
last day came, the lady said to her attendant, " Una, sleep on to-night, for I mean 
to work a spell, and discover if it can be given to mortal to converse with him who 
dwells beneath the glorious waters of the beautiful lake." And Una was sore 
afraid, and trembled ; yet she laid down and tried to sleep. But she could not 
sleep, for she wondered why she should be told to do so ; and she followed her 
mistress secretly and in silence. When Una arrived at the margin of the lake, 
she concealed herself behind an arbutus • but the lady stood beneath the cliff, and 
Una could see only the star that glittered on the top of her silver wand as she 
moved it to and fro. 

Una was not long there before she heard a noise as of foaming waters ; and 
then it came nearer and nearer, until she beheld the form of a knight on horseback, 
his white plumes waving above his helmet, which seemed one huge diamond, his 
armour laced together with all manner of coloured jewels. The horse was half 
hidden by the foam of the wave ; but Una said it seemed as if the knight bestrode 
a rainbow. The softest, sweetest music that ever was heard accompanied him to 
the shore ; and when he sprang upon the bank where her lady stood, every tree on 
Glena bowed down its branches to do homage to their native prince. Una was 
not so overcome with the sight but that she heard the knight praise her lady's 
beauty, and promise that if she would be faithful to him, and him alone, for seven 
years, meeting him on that spot every May morning until the seventh morning, 
that on the seventh he would bear her away to his lake-guarded palace, and make 
her his bride. This she promised to do ; and sorry was Una to hear her, for she 
thought within herself how sad it would be for the country to lose so fair a blossom, 
the poor so good a friend, and her aged father so dutiful a daughter. 

For six May mornings, following each other with their flowers, and wreaths of 
hawthorn, and tender lambs, and singing-birds, and maids as innocent as the one 
and as blithe as the other — for six May mornings, before the lark sung its carol, or 
the thrush left its young to seek for food, did the lady meet her royal lover in the 
same place The seventh morning was at hand. She changed not, she thought of 
no other. Her heart was with the Water-king ; and every other suitor was 
dismissed, to her father's grief and the disappointment of her people. 

Una counted the days of April with sorrow ; mingling her tears with its showers, 
and watching her beloved lady with more than usual anxiety. "Surely," she 
thought, " she will never have the heart to leave her old grey-headed father ;" and 
she thought this the more when she saw how her lady's eyes filled with tears when the 
good old man kissed and blessed her — alas ! for the last time. This night, also, 



ISO A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



she permitted Una to receive her saffron robe and jewelled coronet, and, then 
taking her hand, she told her she had been a faithful servant, and, she knew, had 
kept her secret ; and Una fell at her feet and embraced them, and lifted up her 
voice and wept bitterly ; and she felt her lady tremble, and hot, large tears fall 
upon her brow ; but she said, " Una, I am pledged to my love to be his bride, and 
I go to keep my word — do thou be a child, unto his death, to my father, and 
divide my jewels and garments amongst the poor. I shall take nothing with me 
save this white robe — my bridal robe — and this wreath upon my head :" and the 
wreath was made of the white water-lilies — their cups more pure than silver, and 
their threads more bright than gold. This wreath she placed upon her brow 
with her own hands, and then walked out into the balmy air, while the stars were 
alive in the sky, and the wood-pigeons dreaming over their nests. Una followed 
at a distance, and saw that the Lake-king was waiting for his bride. For a moment 
her lady stood upon the bank, and waved her arms towards the home of her youth ; 
then paused, and turned towards her lover, whose noble steed stood as firmly on 
the liquid waters as if his silver shoes had pressed the earth — the white plumes 
of his helmet waved and danced in the morning air — he stood in his stirrups to 
receive her, and the same moment the sweetest music floated all around. The lady 
sprang from earth for ever ; and away — away — away, swifter and brighter than 
a thousand sunbeams — the Prince and his beautiful Bride flashed across the lake ! 

" And spirits, from all the lake's deep bowers, 
Glide o'er the blue wave, scattering flowers." 

We have not yet done with the O'Donaghue legends ; and whether the reader 
weary of them or not, we must give two or three more. 

" And did you never hear of O'Donaghue's pigs 1 Sure, the pigs he had war 
wonderful — so fat and large and handsome, broad-backed and deep-chested — more 
like cows — the wonder of the whole counthry they were. Well, he was a little a' 
one side for want of money ; and he said to his wife, ' My darlin,' he says, — for he 
was very fond of L^, always, — ' My darlin,' he says, c the times are bad enough, 
and there's so muo.. talk about the pigs that I'll sell 'em.' c Sell em ! ' she says, 
looking all ways at him — for she knew her own know — 'is it sell them?' 'Whisht !' 
he says, < and don't be talking of what you don't understand ; keep to your little 
parlour, my dear, and leave O'Donaghue to manage his pigs.' Well, whatever 
she answered, she said half to herself; and by that token it wasn't, maybe, agree- 
able, — for when a woman doesn't care to spake out, there is something she wants 
to keep in, you may be certain sure of, — and O'Donaghue put a frown upon himself 
that would terrify the lake into a storm at any hour of the day or night ; and so 
she made a curtshey to him, by way of obadience, and left him to himself. 
Well, he thought to himself, while he was taking a turn in his library (you 



LEGEND OP o'DONAGHUE'S PIGS. 181 



may see it in the lake now), that, as he only wanted the money for present use, he 
might as well sell the pigs ; and so off he druv them to market the next morning. 
Ye think it quare he'd drive the pigs 1 Bedad ! and so it was ; but he had a rason 
for it — they wouldn't be druv by any one else. So presently a travelling pig- 
merchant came up to them, as well as he could through the fair — for the crowd 
round the pigs went beyant all, to see O'Donaghue on his white horse standing at 
the tail of a hundred o' pigs. Well, he offered for the pigs • and O'Donaghue, 
when he buttoned up the money, says, ' My good man,' he says, ' if ye'r discon- 
tinted wid yer bargain, jist let me know, and I'll give ye yer money back again.' 
But the vagabone thought how soft O'Donaghue must be, for he knew he got 
the pigs for half their value. And one went home, and the other went home ; 
but the home of O'Donaghue and the home of the pig-driver did not lie the 
same road. Well, the man drove off his pigs ; and they most broke the heart in 
him and his men, from the unasy way they wandered — here and there, up and 
down, in and out. Still, when he thought of the fine bacon they'd make, he went 
on, never heeding the trouble. After two days' weary journey he came to a river 
ford ; and if ever there had been a bridge there, it was broke down, and the 
river was foaming and dancing over and around the rocks, cutting and slashing like 
fun, and glittering like diamonds. Well, the very minute the pigs saw the wathur, 
they dashed into it ; and sure enough as they did, every pig became a rush " 

«■ A what, Sir Richard T 

" A green growing rush, rooted under the wathur — quite natural-like, waving, 
with its little tuft of brown bud at the top. — There war his beautiful pigs — his 
broad bacon turned into green rushes ! First of all, he set up an ullagawn that 
would shake the Reeks ; and then he turned back fairly and softly towards Killarney 
to get his money back from the O'Donaghue. When he reached the castle, he 
knocked at the hall door wid the Dane's hammer that hung there ; and out comes 
the lady. ' And what do ye want, my good man % ' she says ; so he explained to 
her. ' Then,' she says, ' you must go up to the Prince's bedside and shake him up,' 
she says, ' for he is asleep ; and if you find that won't do, pul 1 him by the foot.' 
He did as she bid him ; but sorra a wake he'd wake. So lirfthg up the golden 
quilt that covered the bed, he pulled his foot ; and if he did, <*s sure as Glena is 
darkening the wathur, foot, ankle, leg, and thigh came away in his hand. Oh ! 
how he blessed O'Donaghue and his pigs — the wrong way — as he stood holding the 
limb, and the prince sleeping as sweet and as quiet as if the May breezes were 
playing round his head. So he tucks the leg under the tail of his coat ; and 
though he was trembling from head to foot, he walks past the lady as bowld as a 
ram, and says, ' Thank ye'r honor, — I've finished my business.' He flew off like 
the wind, and the leg slipped from under his arm ; and as sure as it did, it took to 
running before him ! Whichever way he ran, it was before him. More than once 



182 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY 



lie raised his hand to make the blessed sign, but he had no power. And sure his 
condition was not bettered when looking back, he saw O'Donaghue hot foot after 
him. ' Stop,' he cries, ' ye beggarly pig-drivers. What ails ye, that ye can't stop 
when a gentleman tells ye ? Give me my leg,' he says ; ' and I think it a very 
unmannerly thing of ye, and a proof of yer ill-breeding, to come to a gentleman's 
house, and to stale the leg off his body without his lave, and he asleep. Give me 
my beautiful leg,' says he, coming up to him. ' Plaze yer honorable honor's 
glory for ever ! ' says the fellow, stopping. < Sure, it run away sir — it's on 
before, sir.' ' Where 1 ' thundered out the Prince ; and every echo from the 
Eagle's Nest to the Gap of Dunloe shouted ' Where ? ' ' There,' answered the 
nagur. ' Oh ! Oh ! ' — and the O'Donaghue laughed, — the leg was in its own place. 
' And there,' said the Prince, throwing a purse towards him. ' My pigs are at 
home, and there's yer money. I only wanted my turn out of the Saxon's goold.' " 

We have yet another legend : — 

" It was sleeping he was, the poor innocent boy with not enough brains in his 
head to make it ache — an innocent chap intirely — sleeping sometimes— and some- 
times watching the cow's tails, to see if rain was coming, and sometimes counting 
the stars, or hallooing to the echoes, the only company he had, the craythur, on 
the mountain. Well he was sleeping; and all of a sudden some one shuck him by 
the showlder. 

" ' Wake up, Jerry ! ' says a fine dark gentleman in black, ' Wake up, Jerry, and 
take this letter for me to the Emperor of Proosha.' 

" ' De Emperor of Proosha, is it ! ' says Jerry, rubbing his eyes — ' Oh ! by dis 
and by dat, I don't know where to find him.' 

" ' Get up, you fool,' said the dark gentleman, ' get up,' and he shook his head, 
with a three-cocked hat upon it at the poor boy — ' here's my horse standing ready, 
and he'll take you to him at once.' 

" ' I'll go wid all de pleasure in de world,' replied Jerry — ' if yer honour 'ill just 
tell me who'll be mindin' de cows till I come back.' 

" ' I'll mind them,' says the dark gentleman. 

" ' Oh ! yer honour's glory, I'd be sorry to throuble de likes of yer honour.' 

" ' If you don't be off to Dublin this minute,' says the dark gentleman, ' and 
give this letter to the Emperor of Proosha, who you'll meet wid the King of Roosha, 
and the Prence of France, all walking arm in arm into the Parliament liouse in 
College Green ; if you don't fly this minute, and give it to the Emperor of Proosha 
— the shortest of the three he'll be, with sandy whiskers, and a stoop in his neck ; 
for his crown' — goes on the dark gentleman, with a bit of a wink — c his crown, is 
like many another crown in the world, more than he can convaynently carry; give 
him the letter, and don't wait for an answer, and if you don't do it, I'll — ! ' and as 
he shook his fist in the poor boy's face, every single mountain, even the three reeks 



LEGEND OF O DONAGHUE S HURLEY. 



183 



that form the crest of the Mac Gilly Cuddy, trembled like young rushes. ' It's 
done, yer honour ! ' shouted Jerry, brave as a lion and bould as a ram, springing on 
the horse's back as a kid springs to its mother's side, and off went the horse, making 
the mountains his stepping stones, until he stopt in College Green, and then turn- 
ing his head like a christian to Jerry, he says, ' Get down you fool, and don't be 
keeping me waiting, for the smoke of the city makes me sneeze;' So poor Jerry 
got down, and sees the King of Roosha, and the Emperor of Proosha, and the 
Prence of France, all walking into the Parliament house, and he up at once to the 
Emperor of Proosha, and making a bow, gave him the letter, and then mounted 
his horse that was trying to keep in the sneeze, and away they went, till he came to 
where he had left the dark gentleman, who was no other than O'Donaghue himself, 
— and, ' Ye'r a nate boy,' says the chief to him, ' mighty nate, and if you want to 
see raal sport, come down to morrow morning to Castle Lough, and make this sign 
over yer eyes, and its there you'll see fun, — only, if you dare to open yer lips it 
will be the worse for you.' 

" So Jerry thought he'd take one day's divarshun out of himself; and sure enough 
he was earlier than the sunbeam at Castle Lough — and doing as he was bid — and 
there he saw the Emperor of Proosha, and his hurlers — and the Prence of France, 
and his hurlers — and the King of Roosha, and his hurlers, all walking on the lake, 
and trying their bits of hurleys ; and of a suddent up rose O'Donaghue and his 
boys, with black oak hurleys, and every man of them had a white silk shirt tyed 
about his middle with green, and the pipers playing O'Donaghue's whistle as grand 
as Gandsey ; and wasn't Jerry, by the same token, as proud as a red deer, that he 
belonged to the kingdom of Kerry. Well, it was O'Donaghue against Roosha, and 
Proosha, and France — and one Kerry boy to three furriners — but Kerry had the 
best of the day, until — but Jerry — for he was but soft, you understand — Jerry 
never could tell what turned the luck, but it was turned — and whir-r — the Irish 
were bet — -just for a while — and the poor boy clapping his hands in a fair agony, 
he shouted out, ' Oh, O'Donaghue, are ye going to live and stand that ? ' And as 
he spoke something rowled in the heavens above his head, and he was struck down 
between the two eyes ; and when he did rise up, he rose up a blind boy upon his 
own mountain, and remained blind to the day of his death. Some said he was 
struck by lightning ; but, considering everything, it was more natural to suppose 
he was struck by O'Donaghue for not minding what he told him." 

And another legend still : — 

Killarney is no more exempt than other parts of Ireland, from " hard men" — 
sub-letters of the soil, who extort to the uttermost farthing. One of these had been 
" very hard intirely " upon a widow — a lone woman — who had been industrious 
but unfortunate. He had come to her " little place," and told her that unless her 
rent was paid the next morning, he would distrain forthwith, — there should be no 



184 A WEEK AT KILLARNBY, 



more delay. The widow knew that, as the man had no pity, her time was come. 
She sat for a few minutes watching the turf ashes smoulder upon the hearth, won- 
dering if they would go out or continue burning until after twelve, — and then 
throwing the hood of her cloak over her head, she thought she would just walk 
down to the quay of Ross Island, and " see if the air would raise her heart." She 
came to the quay, and sat down, praying (if it was God's will) that he would take 
her out of her trouble — that she might be as calm as the lake, and she prayed also 
for patience, and when she arose, she felt stronger both in body and mind than she 
had been for many a long day. She turned her steps homeward, but, just as she 
raised her eyes, " she was struck," by seeing a tall fine-looking gentleman before her. 
She curtsied, and was passing on, when he bid her good evening, very kindly, and 
asked her what she was doing there by herself so late, just as the moon was rising; 
so she told him, how her little place was to be taken from her in the morning, and 
how she had come out just to breathe the fresh air, and be alone with God and her 
own heart for a while, and was going home to sleep, maybe for the last time under 
her own roof. The gentleman watched every word she said, and asked her how 
much she owed ; and she told him, and it was both a long gale and a heavy rent. 
So he made no more words, but pulling out a purse that looked both long and heavy, 
" take those," he says, " and go home, and pay your rent before a witness, and 
take a receipt. Well, they were gold pieces she held in her hand, and while she 
was down on her knees blessing him he was gone. So she went home, and calling 
on a neighbour, they both went to the hard man's door. " It's no use," he says 
— and he smoking his pipe like a gentleman forenint his tumbler of punch — " it's 
no use, ma'am, coming to me ; — the money — or the road." " Here's the money, 
sir," she says, " if you'll be pleased to give me the receipt." — Well, to see the look 
he gave at her, and then at the money — and then at her again — and how he tested 
the gold, and was mean enough to ask her how she got it — for the rich of his kind 
are mighty fond of thinking the poor are thieves — but she scorned to give him any 
satisfaction beyond the money ; — her neighbour saw her pay it, and she took her 
receipt, and the hard man locked up the rent in his strong box — but the next 
morning — never was there any thing higher than the " ullagawn " he raised — for in 
place of the ten gold pieces the widow gave him, what had he in the strong box but 
ten " arrabutus leaves ! " — and .then all the town knew it was O'Donaghue himself 
that righted the poor widow, and punished the hard man." 

Our readers may believe as much or as little as they please of these stories of 
actual interviews between children of earth and the spirit of the disembodied prince : 
but that he has been seen, accompanied by " troops of friends," there can be no 
rational doubt. Among other witnesses to the fact, we summoned one who was 
very unlikely to be influenced by pre-established superstition — an Englishman, a 
Protestant, and, moreover, a soldier of the 30th regiment, of the name of Thomas 



SPECTRAL VISIONS. 185 



Reynolds. We sent for him to our hotel, and found him a plain-spoken native of 
Devonshire ; a sturdy ploughman, who last year won the prize at a ploughing-match. 
The man had evidently no imagination, and was as little likely to invent a fiction, 
or to give it currency, as any one we have ever seen. His story was this : — He was 
ploughing at Inisfallen with another man, an Irishman ; they were engaged in 
ploughing up the ancient church-yard of the island — a labour which Reynolds dis- 
liked, and to which his comrade strongly objected, but Lord Kenmare's steward 
insisted on its being done. The morning following the day on which they commenced 
their work, they were mooring the boat in which they had proceeded to the island, 
when they saw a procession of about two hundred persons pass from the old church- 
yard, and walk slowly and solemnly over the lake to the mainland. Reynolds was 
himself terribly alarmed ; but his companion fainted in the boat. This circum- 
stance occurred at daybreak, when it was almost twilight. He affirmed that he saw, 
repeatedly afterwards, smaller groups of figures ; but no crowd so numerous. In 
answer to our questions, he expressed his perfect readiness to depose to the fact on 
oath ; and asserted that he would declare it if he were on his death-bed. The 
people, he added, were astonished to find him — an Englishman and a Protestant 
— confirming their story. The man had certainly no object in coining a deceit ; 
we have not heard of his ever having previously told it to any stranger : it was 
mere accident that made us acquainted with it, and he was evidently indisposed to 
satisfy the inquiries of the curious. 

Before the science of optics was well understood, these very curious and very 
interesting appearances were supposed to be the result of supernatural agency. 
We now know that all such phenomena are the effects of natural causes, and can 
even be reproduced artificially. They are caused by refraction or reflection of the 
rays of light, and sometimes by both combined, and differ from " the airy child of 
vapour and the sun " (rainbow) only in being more rare ; because they require 
more unusual atmospheric changes, and uncommon localities, of hill and plain, 
land and water, to produce them.* 

* This tradition, therefore, is founded upon natural causes, and the spectre of O'Donaghue is a 
real vision. Many such illusions are on record. The mirage of the sands of the East exhibits 
distorted images of real objects, so as to deceive all travellers. M. Mongg, who accompanied 
the French army in Egypt, and Dr. Clarke, witnessed and have described those phenomena — 
lakes, trees, and houses in the midst of a naked desert ; and so great was the optical deception, 
that they would not believe it such till they passed through the apparently lovely spots, and 
found nothing but a few miserable Arab huts and stunted shrubs in a waste of arid land. Similar 
appearances are recorded by Scoresby and others as occurring in the Arctic seas: one of the ships 
seemed, as by enchantment, floating in the air ; which Scoresby afterwards discovered to have 
been the reflection of his father's vessel which accompanied him in the atmosphere, though the 
real ship was at a distance far beyond that at which objects could be seen by direct vision. From 
a similar cause arise the " Fata Morgana," in the Straits of Messina, described by Swinburne and 

N 



1 8 I A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



Of the Islands, next in importance is Inisfallen — sweet Inisfallen ! It receives 
from all tourists the distinction of being the most beautiful, as it is certainly the 
most interesting, of the lake islands. Its peculiar beauty is derived from the al- 
ternating hill and dale within its small circle ; the elegance of its miniature creeks 
and harbours ; and the extraordinary size as well as luxuriance of its evergreens ; 
and it far surpasses in interest any one of its graceful neighbours, inasmuch as here, 
twelve centuries ago, was founded an Abbey, of which the ruins still exist, from 
which afterwards issued " the Annals of Inisfallen " — among the earliest and the 
most authentic of the ancient Irish histories.* On approaching it, we seem to be 

others. Beautiful landscapes, with men and cattle in motion, appear on the surface of the seas. 
These are found to be reflections of objects on the distant opposite coast of Eeggio. In certain 
states of the atmosphere, these spectra are lost as it were on the surface of the sea, and every sheet 
of water as it passes becomes a distinct mirror reflecting them. But perhaps the most striking 
of these appearances is the celebrated " Spectre of the Hartz Mountains," which kept the district 
in terror and alarm from time immemorial, till M. Haue, the French chemist, discovered the 
cause. He went for the express purpose of witnessing the phenomenon ; and for thirty mornings 
climbed the Brocken Mountain, without being gratified. At length, early one morning, he 
observed on the opposite side of the hill the gigantic figure of a man turned towards him. The 
distinctness of the form left no doubt of the reality of the figure ; while he contemplated the 
monster with wonder and awe, a sudden gust of wind nearly blew off his hat, and when he put 
up his hand to hold it on, he observed the giant do the same. He now found that it was nothing 
more than a dilated image of himself reflected from the surface of an opposite closed atmosphere, 
^o doubt the legend of O'Donaghue took its rise from some similar optical deception. It is said 
to be seen at the same hour of the morning, and at the same time of the year, as that of the 
Brocken Spectre. Some horseman riding along the opposite shore of the lake is reflected by the 
atmospheric mirror, and seems to continue his course along the surface of the water. Upon this 
principle it is easy to account for the appearances which from time to time terrify the peasantry 
— and the scene witnessed by Reynolds is to be thus explained. 

* The original work, written, and for several centuries preserved, in the abbey of Inisfallen is 
now in the Bodleian Library. It is on parchment in medium quarto, and contains fifty-seven 
leaves. The earlier portion consists of extracts from the Old Testament, and a history of the 
ancient world down to the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland, in 432. From this period it treats 
exclusively of the affairs of Ireland — terminating with a.d. 1319. It appears to have been the 
production of two monks ; one of whom carried it to the year 1216, and the other continued it to 
the year 1320. There are several copies of it extant ; one of which was in the collection of His 
Grace the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe ; part of this was translated and printed in 1825 by 
Dr. O'Conor. The facts are narrated in the smallest compass, and present a dry but sad " suc- 
cession of crimes, wars, and rebellions." Sir James Ware selected and published several passages, 
to which he refers as authorities ; a single quotation may satisfy the curiosity of our readers — 
" Anno 1180 ; this abbey of Inisfallen being ever esteemed a paradise and a secure sanctuary, 
the treasure and the most valuable effects of the whole country were deposited in the hands of 
the clergy, notwithstanding which, we find the abbey was plundered in this year by Maolduin, 
son of Daniel O'Donaghue. Many of the clergy were slain, and even in their cemetery, by the 
Mac Carthys. But God soon punished this act of impiety and sacrilege by bringing many of its 
authors to an untimely end." 



OF INISFALLEN. 187 



drawing near a thick forest ; for the foliage is remarkably close, and extends literally 
into the water, many of the finest trees having their roots under the lake. On land- 
ing, however, we find that the lofty elm and magnificent ash, mingled with hollies of 
gigantic growth, and other evergreens (excepting only the arbutus, of which the 
island does not contain a single specimen) of prodigious height and girth only encircle 
a green-sward, of so pure and delicious a colour as to demand for Inisfallen, beyond 
every other part of Ireland, the character of being pre-eminently " the Emerald 
Isle." Vistas have been skilfully formed through the trees, presenting on one side 
a view of the huge mountains, and on the other of the wooded shores of Ross. 
Of the abbey a few broken walls alone remain ; it is said to have been built in the 
seventh century by Saint Finian Lobhar (the Leper), the descendant of one of the 
most renowned of the Munster kings ; and it was subsequently appropriated to the 
use of the regular canons of St. Augustin. 

After our visit to Inisfallen in 1 840, it became associated with our dreams of 
happiness — it was to us a vision of beauty — of peace — of loveliness. To every- 
thing we saw in other lands, however lovely, we exclaimed, " But what so sweet as 
Inisfaibi. ! " The traditions of the past were mingled with the beauty of the 
present — our present; for we had but to close our eyes, and there it was, sleeping 
like an enchanted emerald on the bosom of the crystal lake, — the romance of ages, 
hallowing every tree, and stone, and fairy bay. Again to visit it, merrily we went ; 
the music of young Spillane's bugle pouring forth the melodies of glen and moun- 
tain. Rapidly we glided over the surface of the bright lake, paying but half 
homage to the isles we skirted. Yes, there is Inisfallen, — but oh, how changed ! 
The storms, they tell us, uprooted some, and rendered topless others, of those noble 
trees, now but the relics of their former greatness ; — shorn of every bough and 
leaf, — headless trunks. The forester says " they will sprout out ! ' 1 Sprout ! like 
pollards, — the trees that seemed rooted for eternity. The tempest and the whirl- 
wind might have done battle with them ; but really we doubt the right of saw and 
axe to lop off the heads and hew away branches that had withstood the storm, — 
lest they might fall by the storm. It is impossible to fancy anything more indi- 
cative of fallen majesty than these huge naked trees, chopped off in the middle. 
But it is not only that : truly the glory has departed, for a time, from Inisfallen. 
Did we say " for a time % " alas ! much has departed that never can return. The 
beautiful little oratory changed, in latter days, into a banquetting house — that 
graceful ruin, crowning the cliff, a relique of the seventh century, its Romanesque 
doorway, enriched with cheveron and other mouldings — a gem of beauty — has 
been almost pulled down. An attempt at preserving the arch has been clumsily 
made — patched with red brickish plaster : surely a little trouble would have pro- 
cured the original red sandstone from Glengariff. The bay-window, which 
commanded a view of Ross, Tore, and Mangerton, is altogether goue : indeed, 

n 2 



188 A WEEK AT KILLAKXF.Y. 



the whole is now an unsightly mass. Patching a Romanesque doorway with 
red plaster is something like rouging cheeks that age had designed to render 
venerable. 

We turned away from that hallowed part of the island with soreness of spirit, 
and pursued our walk round its shores with an aching heart. The spell was broken. 
Those who have not visited it before, and come hereafter, will still think it lovely. 
Nothing can destroy the beauty of its shape and form, resting, as it does with so 
much ease and grace, upon the surface of the lake ; indented with the most fairy- 
like bays ; elevated into rocky, though not rude magnificence at one side, while the 
opposite shore shelves to the water's edge, and runs out into shallows. It is a 
miniature of a beautiful country, — lawns, and dells, and thickets, and vistas, with 
the most lovely view T s of the lake and the main land, that assume new aspects from 
every point of view ; and though the forest-trees at present look like gigantic 
clothes-props, they may shoot out into thick-set trees. The hawthorns on the side 
opposite the landing-place are as lovely and natural as ever. One of the legendary 
objects, the " needle's eye," will be " threaded" no more by gentlemen who desire 
long life, or ladies who hoped for a number of " olive branches " around their 
hearths ; for the storm and the hatchet have destroyed that : but the " bed of 
honour," an indented ledge in the rocky part of the island, overshadowed by a 
venerable yew-tree, still remains. The legend bears much the same moral as the 
" Rich and Rare " song of him whose poetry is the very language of Ireland. The 
daughter of one of the chiefs in the neighbourhood of the lakes was wooed by two 
youths, both of renown and noble name : but the one the maiden loved was not 
her father's choice ; and, fearing she would be forced to a marriage in opposition to 
her affections, she flew with her lover to the island of Inisfallen ; dreading either 
from its being of easy access from the shore, or from superstitions feelings, which 
would prevent their liking the proximity of the abbey, with its stores of graves and 
legends of supernatural appearances, for a resting-place, they wandered to the 
opposite side. The lover pulled a quantity of long grass and moss, and made his 
lady a couch upon the ledge, whereon she slept, while he watched lest they should 
be followed by her father and his rival. The sun had hardly risen when the breeze 
brought the sound of the war-pipe to the lover's ears, — the gathering cry of the 
hostile clan ; and presently boats were seen visiting and searching the various 
islands ; the war pennon floated, and the music came towards Inisfallen. First of 
all the angry father set foot on the holy isle, then the rejected lover, and a troop of 
retainers : all, as huntsmen, seek the hare, fifties to one. The fugitives were soon 
discovered. " You will not take her now % " said to his rival the youth who had 
kept watch in Inisfallen. " Surely you will not take her now 1 " "I know," was 
the reply, " that holy priest has not blessed you, nor united you : and such is my 
faith in her virtue and your honour, that if twelve months instead of twelve hours 



LAKE LEGENDS. 189 



had passed, I would take her as trustingly as if she had never left her mother's 
side." 

The lady, however, was for once constant, and was united to the object of her 
love ; and the ledge of the rock has retained its name until the present time. 

Our guide, Sir Richard, conducted us up and down the tiny hillocks, and through 
the miniature vales, of this delicious isle, and listened with evident pride and plea- 
sure to our expressions of exceeding delight. And then he and Spillane took 
advantage of our disposition " to sit awhile and rest," for the day was very fair, and 
the sun was sinking " with a pure light and a mellow," to enlighten, and interest, 
and amuse us, by relating some of the legends of the lakes. Although we have 
no design to detain our readers for so long a period as these capital raconteurs kept 
us, under the shadow of the venerable tree, we design to incur the hazard of 
wearying them by compressing some of the tales — premising that they may be, 
and we hope will be, told at greater length and with far greater effect, by the two 
worthies themselves. 

They told us How St. Patrick never came into Kerry ; but only looked 

into it, holding his hands out to it, and saying " I bless all beyond the Reeks." 

How Fin Mac Cool kept his tubs of goold in the lake under Mucross, and 

set his dog Bran to watch them ; this was ages ago, long before the flood. An 
Englishman — a grate diver intirely — came over to try wouldn't he get the 
goold ; and when he went down, the dog woke from his slumbers and seized him ; 

and I'll go bail he never tried th' experimint agin. How, when O'Donaghue 

leaped out of the windy of Ross Castle, his enchanted books flew after him — and 
there they are — O'Donaghue's library, to be seen this day; only turned into 

stone, and like the Killarney guide-books — rather heavy. How, right 

under the Crebough there was a huge carbuncle, that, of a dark night, lit up the 
rocks under the lake, and showed the palaces and towers of the ould ancient city 

that the waters covered. How Darby got his "garden" — a group of 

barren rocks in the Lower Lake. He asked ould Lord Kinmare to let him cut 
wattles out o' the trees of Inisfallen. " I will," says my lord, " as many as ye 
plase between an hour before and an hour after midnight." So Darby took him 
at his word, and went to work. But no sooner did he touch the bark of one of 
the blessed .trees, than he was whisked away in a whirlwind, and flung with a 
skinful of broken bones upon the bit of bare rock, that we call Darby's garden, to 

this day. How a holy hermit fell into sin, and did a hard penance for 

seven long years, just where the trees under Mucross dip into the water. He 
walked straight into the lake, and stuck his holly-stick into the gravel at the 
bottom, and made a vow never to leave the spot until the kippen threw out 
branches and leaves. And- for seven years he stood there, without sleep or food ; 
till at last the stick blossomed, and in one night became a grate tree, and then the 



1 !K) A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



holy Hermit knew he was pardoned ; and 'twas he that did the wonderful cures 
from that day out, till all the county was running after " the Hermit of the holly 

tree." How the first O'Donaghue was a tall slip of a boy ; and he was 

sitting in his ould nurse's cottage, when she set up a screech that the O'Sullivans 
were staling the cattle. So np he gets, pulls an ould sword out of the thatch, and 
kills every mother's son of the thieving blaguards. When the fight was over, up 
comes his gilly, and " didn't we do that nately" says he ; and " were you helping 
me," says O'Donaghue 1 " I was," says the gilly. So with that, O'Donaghue 
goes out and sticks one of the dead men agin the wall, with his eyes staring open, 
and his spear in his fist ; and he calls to the gilly, " kill me that big fellow," says 
he ; and the gilly was frightened, and tried to skulk off. " I knew ye were a 

coward," says O'Donaghue ; and hanged him on the next tree. How the 

Englishman inquired of a Kerry peasant, by what means Ireland happened to 
have so many mountains — to which the Kerry boy made answer thus, " Ye see, 
Ireland being the finest and the best country in the world, in coorse was the last 
country that Nature made ; and when Ireland was finished, Nature had a dale o' 

stuff to spare ; so she left it there — and that makes the mountains." How 

the giant Eel, that lives in a goulden palace in Lough Kittane, walked one mid- 
summer night into the Lower Lake, kicking up a bobbery in the halls of the 
O'Donaghue ; for which impudence the Eel is chained for ten thousand years to 
the rock we call O'Donaghue's prison ; and many's the man that's heard its moans, 
and seen the water rise and fall above it, as it twirled and twisted, trying to 

squeeze itself out of its hand-cuffs. How Fin Mac Cool fought at Ventry 

Harbour, the battle that continued without interruption three hundred and sixty- 
six days. And Dalav Dura, the champion of the Monarch of the world, slain six 
hundred of Fin's best troops in six days, all in single combat ; so Fin successively 
killed Fion M'Cuskeen Loumbunig, Finaughlaugh Trackluskeen, and the champion 
Dulav Dura ; and fought so long and so lustily that his limbs would have fallen 
asunder if they hadn't been kept together by his armour j till, in the end, Fin totally 
destroyed his enemies, and took possession of the field with trumpets sounding, drums 
beating, and colours flying, having been fighting for it one whole year and a day. 

How Macgillicuddy of the Eeeks was a boy or gilly to the Mac Carthy 

Mor ; and he went into Connaught to seek his fortune ; and he fell in love with a 
young lady and she with him ; and he boasted to her father that he had more ricks 
than the father's land could grow hay enough to cover with hay-bands ; so the 
father sent a messenger into Kerry to know the truth of his riches, and whether 
the young stranger had the grate fortune he spoke about. And, to be sure, the 
daughter gave the messenger a hint ; so he thravelled to Kerry, and saw young 
Macgiiiicuddy's father ating his dinner on his knees, with heaps of rats all about 
the cabin he lived in ; so he goes back and tells the fair maid's father, that the 



LAKE LEGENDS. 191 



Macgillicuddy had more live cattle about him than he could count, and was ating 
off a table he wouldn't part with for half Connaught. So, in coorse, the boy got 

the girl. How Ossian used to see white horses riding through his fields. 

" So," says he, " by Jakers, the next time they come I'll mount one of 'em," says 
he. And he did. And they took him to the Thierna na oge— that's the land of 
eternal youth ; and a mighty pleasant place he found it, wid beautiful ladies, fresh 
and fair as a May Morning. Only after a while, " I'll go home," says he, "just 
to ax how my friends are." " Och, they're dead," says the king ; " dead these 
fifteen hundred years," says he. " Pooh," says Ossian ; " sure I haven't been here 
more than a year." " Well, go and see," says the king ; " mount one o' my white 
horses ; but mind if ye get off of his back, ye'U be ould, shrivelled, and withered," 
says he ; " and not the fine bould gorsoon ye are now." So Ossian went ; and he 
wondered grately to see such a many ould castles in ruins — for ye see, yer honours, 
'twas after Cromwell went through the country like a blast ; bad luck to his seed, 
breed, and generation ; Amin ! "Well, Ossian meets an ould clargy, going home to 
holy Aghadoe, and he trying to lift a sack o' corn on his back ; and, " help," says 
he, " for the sake o' the Virgin." " Faiks, I will, honest man," says Ossian ; " for 
the sake of virgin or married woman, or widdy," says he ; for ye see Ossian was a 
hathen, and didn't know what the holy father meant by " the Virgin." So he 
leaped off his horse, and in a moment he was an ould, shrivelled, withered man, 
oulder looking a dale than the Priest he was going to help wid the sack o' corn. 
So the blessed monk of Aghadoe knew that the spell of the enchantment was 
broke ; and he convarted Ossian ; made a Christian of him on the spot — and by 
the same token, it was to a dale finer and better country than the Thierna na oge, 

that Ossian was carried that same night. How the blessed abbot of Inisfallen 

walked for two hundred years about the little island that wasn't a mile round. 
And the way of it was this : — He was praying one morning early, before the sun 
was up ; and he heard a little bird singing so sweetly out of a holly tree, that he 
rose from his knees and followed it, listening to the music it was making ; and the 
little bird flew from bush to bush, singing all the while, and the holy father follow- 
ing ; for so sweet and happy was the song of the little bird, that he thought he 
could listen to it for ever ; so where it flew he went ; and when it changed its 
place, he was again after it ; the little bird singing all the while and the holy father 
listening with his ears and his heart. At length the Abbot thought it was nearing 
vesper time ; and he blessed the little bird, and left it. When he stepped back to 
his convent, what should he see and hear but strange faces and strange voices ; the 
tongue of the Sassenach in lieu of the wholesome Irish. And the monks asked 
him what right had he to wear the habit of the holy Augustines ? And so he told 
them his name, that he was their abbot, and that he had been since daybreak 
following the music of the little bird that was singing sweetly among the branches 



192 A WEEK AT KILLARXEY. 



of the holly tree. And they made answer, that two hundred years ago the holy 
abbot had left the convent, and was never heard of afterwards — and that now the 
heretic and the stranger was ould Ireland's king. So the holy father said, " Give 
me absolution some of ye, for my time is come ;" and they gave him absolution : 
and just as the breath was laving him, they heard at the lattice-window the sweetest 
song that ever bird sung ; and they looked out and saw it, with the sun shining 
on its wings that were white as snow; and while they were watching it, there 
came another bird ; and they sung together for a while out of the holly tree, 
and then both flew up into the sky ; and they turned to the holy father — and he 
was dead. 

We must refer to our guide, Sir Richard, for a longer catalogue of Lake 
Legends ; his store will hardly be exhausted between sunrise and sunset of a 
whole summer day. 

But we have surely stayed too long at Inisfallen — "fair Inisfallen!" — we 
must away among the other islands. There are few, however, and none of them 
remarkable * here is O'Donaghue's Prison, a rock covered with a thick layer of 
peat, and containing only a single stunted tree ; here, on the other hand, is 
Lamb Island, a mass of underwood and finely-grown forest trees. Here is the 
tiny morsel of evergreen called Mouse Island ; the chances are that we shall see 
a craven cormorant* issue from its half a yard of sedge. Passing Brown, or 
Rabbit, Island — so called from the myriads of coneys that formerly peopled 
it, and were all drowmed in a single night by a sudden flood — and leaving 
the river Laune a mile or so to the right, we cross the lake to visit O'Sulli- 
van's Waterfall. Many prefer it to that of Old Tore ; it has a more solitary 
character, has been evidently left more completely to self-government : there is, 
in short, more of Nature about it. Rowing southward, we pass Stag Island, 
then Burnt Island, and pause a minute or two to look at " Darby's Garden " — a 
low ledge of rocks, out of w T hich grow a few meagre Arbutus trees. Here we 
are again right under Glena Mountain, floating through Glena Bay, looking once 
more at Glena Cottage, and listening yet again to the echoes of Glena — beautiful 
Glenjt ! 



* Cormorants were formerly great pests of the Lakes ; but Mr. Herbert has taken care to thin 
their ranks by ordering his gamekeepers to shoot them wherever seen. They used to destroy 
enormous quantities of fish. Their successors are "tlie cross-fishers ;" i. e. unfair anglers, who 
do incalculable mischief to the fishery. This atrocious mode of poaching is thus practised : — 
Two boats go out, each with a line, rod, and reel; their lines are joined, and depending upon 
them are a score, sometimes three score, of flies. A vast number of fish are thus hooked ; and 
several are landed, although a large proportion of them escape, in consequence of the inutility of 
skill to "play" them. It is a butchering libel on the art; and an angler who practises it 
ought to be expelled the " gentle craft." 







°7 ~~ 



^yMz^u^yyusn/ M^rny zLlsy??xJ ^j/ty/ruz/. 



ROW ROUND TORC LAKE. TORC'S ECHOES. 193 



We have a choice of water-paths into the Lake — one straight before us, under 
Brickeen Bridge, the other round by Dinis Island, passing again through the nar- 
row channel, which extorted a compliment from the great Magician of the North. 
Let us enter Tore by one way, and pass out of it by the other. 

And now for a rich treat — a delicious termination to a day of luxury — a row 
round Torc Lake. Luckily it is evening. Bright and glorious as the lakes 
look in sunshine, there is something sweetly soothing in a row upon their waters just 
as the twilight is deepening into night. Fortunately, we asked Spillane if Torc 
had any echoes 1 "Of course," he said, " it had ; but so few, comparatively speaking, 
went round Torc Lake, that its echoes were not so celebrated as they deserved to be." 

The evening was clear and grey ; and our boatmen, Myles Mac Sweeny and 
the elder Hurley — -just the boatmen fitted for the scene, — knowing when to keep 
silence, and most anxious to arouse and display all the Lions of the Lakes, for the 
Tourist's enjoyment. 

Respectfully Spillane saluted Torc Mountain — as we entered his domain — with 
one of his native airs. There was neither ripple on the lake, nor breeze from the 
mountain — all was hushed : there was a pause, — lowly and faithfully were the notes 
echoed : another pause, — more faintly it sounded in the distance : another pause, — 
the echo this time was imperfect in the semi-tones : but faint though the next 
repetition was, it seemed correct. 

" Success, Spillane ! " exclaimed Myles Mac Sweeny. " Sure, then, when ye'r 
gone, it will be long enough before any one will come so natural to the echoes — or 
the echoes so natural to him." 

Another strain was played with still better effect : the echoes were now 
thoroughly awoke — one and all answered — the mountains were alive with music — 
harmony floated all around us. "Himself has some understanding with them 
more than any one else," said Hurley ; whose rigid and embrowned face was lit up 
with the pleasure the Irish always derive from music. " Sure they never get sulky 
with Spillane." " And no wonder, they know him longest," answered Myles : 
" and longest known longest loved, is Kerry language." 

And now we are fairly in the lake — shut in by those " Eternal Hills ;" our oars 
skim the water, so that we go very gently along — softly, and then pause, our 
boatmen resting on their oars, while Spillane again summons the " air-maidens," by 
the magic sound of the " Meeting of the Waters." At the end of each bar he pauses, 
and then it is repeated — again — and again the answer comes in the luscious 
voice of " Sweet echo — sweetest nymph ! " The Torc Waterfall appeared but as 
a silver ripple, straying down the mountain. We thought of the delicious view 
we had enjoyed from the top of that same Fall, and how the lake looked from the 
summit of mighty Mangerton, — the water over which we were then floating seeming 
as if it would all hold in the palm of a giant's hand ! The Torc cottage was seen 



194 



A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



to great advantage, its smooth lawns undulating, and then extending to the lake, the 
smoke curling up the mountain, imparting a silent life to the landscape, while sud- 
denly the dinner-bell rang forth its cheerful summons, and then the boatmen plied 
their oars bravely, for we were anxious to view the caves on the opposite side. 

These caves are exceedingly picturesque, the summit frequently so slightly 
covered with clay, that you wonder how the trembling London-pride can find 
sustenance. Having been introduced, of course, to " Jackey Buee," — Yellow Jackey, 
a " manly-looking rock," we proceeded slowly round the lake, examining first one 
cave and then another, until, when we came again beneath the mountain, our 
boatmen paused : — "Now, Mr. Spillane !" said Myles— " Now's a fine time for the 
laugh — O'Donaghue's laugh." There was an instant hush, while Spillane rose, and, 
placing his bugle to his lips, blew strongly a succession of discords — an imitation 
of what might be called " Satanic laughter." Crash, crash it went — and roused the 
angry echoes, — which repeated, now loudly, now faintly, then in the distance — far, 
far off, — the phantom-like sounds. Certainly, it was most unearthly music — ringing 
sharply, and then deeply, — as if the echoes, retired to their slumbers, were enraged 
at a rude waking • and their voices gave existence to a succession of bitter curses. 

Out again we issue, right across the lake, on our homeward voyage. Once more 

we pass by Inisfallen ; once again we listen to Spillane, as he plays, while we 

repeat the words, 

" Isle of beauty, fare thee well ! " 

But although our row round the lake was after sunset, it does not follow that 
others will postpone it to an hour so late : those who are voyaging earlier may row 
by Inisfallen, and enter the river Laune — the river where the naiads meet the 
mer-maidens of Old Ocean ; for it connects Killarney with the broad Atlantic. 






DUBPk-U 



THE FIFTH DAY'S TOUR. 

OBJECTS OF MINOR IMPORTANCE IN THE VICINITY OF 
THE LAKES. 

Start not, gentle reader, at finding a description of 
the magic beauties of Killarney terminated by the un- 
couth objects which head this page. From such as 
these you are about to derive no inconsiderable enjoy- 
ment, if your taste incline you to antiquities ; 
at all events you will gratify a very natural and 
pardonable curiosity; and, if we mistake not, 
some of the singularities you 
design to examine will make 
impressions on your mind so 
strong, that time will not rapidly 
remove them. Our introduction 
to them must be managed with 
sufficient brevity; we must, in- 
deed, content ourselves with 
doing little more than leading you to two or three deeply interesting spots, and 
leaving you to your own dreamy speculations over themes and heroes of three 
centuries ago. The value of Killarney to the Tourist is unquestionably augmented 
by the fact that the 

" Work of Druid hands of old " 




may be inspected in the midst of so many natural beauties. 



196 A WEEK AT KILLAKNEY. 



About two miles from Killarney, and a quarter of a mile perhaps from the main 
road, is the singular Cuiart or circle of Loisavigeen. It is situated in the centre 
of a field, near the summit of a hill ; and consists of " seven low upright dallans, 
or pillar-stones, each between three and four feet in height, and forming a small 
court, the diameter of which is fourteen feet ; that of the outer earthen circle is 
thirty-four feet." (We adopt the measurement of Mr. Windele.) About sixty feet 
south of the entrenchment stand two other dallans, the tallest of which is eleven 
feet high. They stand nearly east and west, and are distant from each other seven 
feet. Circularity in their stone monuments was a favourite form with the pagan 
Irish. It is observed not only in their temples, such as these circles and fire- 
towers, but even in their dwellings, their Cahirs, forts, &c. 

The hill overlooks the Glen of Ahahunning. It is a pretty glen. Through 
the soft grass and moss appear numberless grey stones, which the people 
say were used in fairy warfare. It is planted with trees, which thicken into 
a wood if you follow the winding of the river to any distance. At one 
side the banks slope to the water, on the other they are abrupt and broken 
into ravines. A pretty gentle little girl guided us to both the hill and the 
glen, and to the tree that has a melancholy notoriety amongst the peasantry, from 
the fact of a young and beautiful woman having hung herself from its branches, — 
a rare occurrence in Ireland. " You see, ma'am," said the girl, " that it happened, 
when the wood was first planted, that one of the Mac Sweeneys deluded a poor 
young girl from some part of Munster into this glen, promising to make her his 
wife, which he could not do, for a reason that he had a wife of his own. When 
she found how it was, her heart was crushed altogether ; and stealing out into 
the glen, she cut those words, as you will see, upon the stone : — 

' Mac Sweeney took me from my place ; 
May he, like me, meet sure disgrace.' 

And then she hung herself out of the bough of the tree — the largest tree in the 
wood it was then : and now you see — for there it is— it is the smallest j it never 
grew a stroke since — a stunted ugly tree." 

No wonder the tree should have a legend attached to it, for it is very singular. 
Every branch, no matter how small, has a crooked bend : and certainly, at its foot 
lies a stone, on which a little trouble will clearly trace the couplet our little guide 
repeated to us. There is nothing traditionary in that. 

The Tourist is on his way to Glenflesk ; and let him visit it. Its beauty will 
amply repay the trouble ; to say nothing of the interest attached to " Labig-Owen " 
— the Bed of Owen, — a huge crevice in Phil-a-dhaoun, the Demon's Cliff. It is 
a " good step " from the road ; up a very steep hill, or rather a succession of rocks 
— some pointed, others flat and smooth ; here and there the foot sinks into 



THE DEMONS CLIFF. LABIG-OWEN. 197 



patches of bog, and the hands grasp for help the feathery birch-boughs or gigantic 
heather. The way to the " Labig," the " easy way," as it was called, is greatly 
intersected by roots of trees, crossing and recrossing the various passes, some over- 
grown with moss ; while from every crevice spring up the broad green leaves and thin 
transparent stems and blossoms of the London-pride. When near the summit the 
visitor will look down upon the valley, which from this point of view is of exceeding 
beauty ; the straggling course of the tremulous river is masked, and its murmurs 
supply appropriate music ; while the opposite sides of the mountain show their 
bared and craggy sides, in contrast to the rich but wild luxuriance of the foliage at 
our feet. At length, by climbing, scrambling, and crawling, the foot of the outlaw's 
rock is reached. A ladder having been previously obtained at one of the surround- 
ing cottages, the " bed" is entered. It is a flat space of about twelve feet square in 
the side of the hill ; a crevice is pointed out as the sleeping place, and a jutting 
rock as the table of the outlaw. A safer asylum can scarcely be imagined ; it is 
completely screened by naturally planted trees, some of which are very aged ; 
completely inaccessible on three sides ; and on the fourth the entrance might be 
defended by one man against a hundred. Here several outlaws have taken shelter ; 
the last was a common-place murderer, about fifty years ago : to an earlier seeker 
of its protection, however, an interesting story is attached. 

Owen, the real hero of the Phil-a-dhaoun, was of the noble race of the Mac 
Carthys, and, as in duty bound, an ally of the O'Donaghues of the Glens. He was 
a rover of the most daring character, a man of great personal strength and beauty, 
bold and brave, possessing the qualities which even now exercise an almost un- 
bounded influence over the Irish peasant. It is said that one of his followers was 
so devoted to him, that he left kith and kin to companion his wanderings ; and 
when trouble (i. e. justice) was in pursuit of the mountaineer, and he found it 
necessary to retreat like the fox to his lair, or the eagle to his eyry, when he made 
Phil-a-dhaoun his resting place, and slept upon the heather-covered rock, his friend 
would sit at the entrance to the cave and watch his slumbers. With the assistance 
of this untiring comrade he kept possession of the heights, the peasantry supplying 
him with food, placing goats'-milk, oaten cakes, and whiskey in the crevices of the 
rocks, or beneath the thick moss. Thus he subsisted for a long time ; but although 
a price was set upon his head, he became weary of restraint, and also thought that 
by retiring into the wilder and deeper glens of Iveleary he might withdraw suspicion 
from his favourite Phil-a-dhaoun. His follower resolved to maintain his post, so as 
to divert attention, and enable Owen to make good his retreat to the house of one 
Keardon, in the glens of Iveleary, who, while professing the greatest devotion to the 
outlaw, cherished a bitter hatred towards him. The determined bravery and great 
personal strength of Owen Mac Carthy prevented the false coward from resorting to 
open violence ; but he resolved to ensnare what he dared not combat : he placed 



198 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



the bed of the gigantic glensman over a trap-door, and when he slept secure in 
the hospitality of an Irish roof, Reardon and his accomplices lowered the bed, 
murdered their guest, and cut off his head. The disgrace of this cold-blooded and 
treacherous action clings to them still, for the Reardons of that district are still 
called Reardane na cean, meaning " Reardon of the head." Owen's faithful 
follower, who had remained at the Labig, when he heard of the murder flung 
himself off the ledge in a fit of despair, and was found dead amongst the rocks in 
the glen. 

The Tourist should return from G-lenflesk by the old road, which, leaving to the 
right the ancient Castle of Killaha, runs for some distance by the side of, or at 
least not far from, Lough Kittane. It is a barren lake on the eastern side of 
Mangerton, or rather at the base of Crochan Mountain, and is supplied by the 
streams which run from both ; its own waters are poured into the Flesk by the river 
Finou. The pedestrian may examine many magnificent objects among the neigh- 
bouring glens. We refer to it chiefly to indicate the locality of a wonderful cave, 
or rather series of caves, of which we may claim the merit of discovery. Raths 
abound in the neighbourhood of Killarney ; and our curiosity was naturally 
excited to ascertain if any one of them contained excavations — which it is said are 
the common characteristics of all.* 

It was rumoured that an ancient house of the O'Donaghues, in this vicinity, 
was abandoned soon after it was built, as "unlucky," in consequence of the 
builder's erecting it "convenient to a Rath." This was a clue : we followed it up; 
and, under the guardianship of Sir Richard, proceeded to make our inquiries. 
The result was the proceeding about half a mile from this ruined house, with half 
a score of candles, and a couple of stout fellows with spades. We found the Rath 
easily, — a green mound on the summit of a small hill, perfectly circular, the circle 
formed by a hedge of mould ; of the artificial character of which there could be 
no doubt. We saw what we supposed to be the entrance to the chambers under- 
neath ; it was nearly in the middle of the enclosure, and open as they all are — 



* There is no object which the peasantry regard with so much superstitious dread as the 
Eath, from the belief that it is the especial property of the fairies. It is difficult to find a 
labourer who can be tempted by any reward to put his spade into one of them. They have 
consequently remained undisturbed for ages ; and often a large space is therefore suffered to 
continue an unprofitable waste in the centre of a fertile meadow. Stories in abundance are told 
of punishments that have followed attempts to open or level these Eaths, and of scenes and 
objects witnessed by persons who have unconsciously slept beside them, or passed them at night. 
They are always circular. They are vulgarly attributed to " the Danes." That they are 
structures of very remote antiquity is apparent from the circumstance of their being found in 
places where the Danes never settled ; as also from the cromleachs and stone circles sometimes 
found on their summits, plainly identifying them with the age of heathenism. 



DRUIDIC CAVES. 199 



to the east. With some difficulty we persuaded our workmen to aid us in the task 
of clearing away the stones that had been flung into this opening. After a couple 
of hours' hard labour, we had the satisfaction to find the passage clear, and wide 
enough to admit the body of a man.* As the service was one of some little danger, 
we drew lots with Sir Richard who should adventure first. The task fell to him. 
Lighting each a couple of candles, and bearing each a small stick, we entered as 
nearly together as we could. Having descended about ten yards — a gradual 
slope — there was a sort of landing, upon which we took rest : the passage was so 
narrow that we could not sit upright. 

The descent was resumed. Presently some loosened stones fell, and informed us 
that beneath us there was water : about twelve yards lower, and to this water we 
came. The stick assured us that its depth was not dangerous ; and so, into the 
cave we went, — the first of human beings, most probably, who had entered it for 
two thousand years. The cave was a perfect circle, about sixty feet in diameter, 
and in height not above five feet : we could not stand upright : the water was 
, about two feet deep, so that, unfortunately, it was impossible for us to ascertain if 
any object of interest was to be found on the floor, for the water became mudded 
very rapidly. t Probably some remains of bones might have been discovered ; for 
the best authorities seem to consider them sepulchral. Peering narrowly about us, 
we perceived a hole that looked like a fox-hole. It was, however, barely big 
enough for us to crawl through ; and we entered another cave, smaller, but similar 
in form and character. Another such passage led us into another such cave. 
We could find only those three, but have no doubt that others exist ; indeed, we 
felt quite certain that another hole in the Rath, much about the size and cha- 
racter of the one we opened, would lead to precisely the same results — the 
discovery of a line of subterranean chambers ; and we have little doubt that 
they go all round the hill. An old man pointed our attention to a spot some- 
what distant, both from the entrance we explored, and that to which we now call 
attention, which he said he recollected to be named "the chimney," and which 
assuredly was an opening into a room under ground. The chambers we explored 

* One of them caught a very severe cold, in consequence of his visit below ; and of course 
his illness was attributed to the effects of the curse upon all who put a spade in a Eath. 

It is the invariable custom to fill up all such openings ; first, because it is considered unlucky 
to the land to leave them open ; and next, because occasionally they break the legs of cattle, 
whose feet stumble in them. 

f The weather had been exceedingly wet for some days before our visit ; water had therefore 
made its way into the cave : but that in dry seasons there was no water there, we had conclusive 
proof. On examining closely, we found the sides of the cave scraped in a singular manner, the 
marks being evidently fresh : a little reflection convinced us that this arose from the rabbits, 
who had made their way in, and had been searching about to find a way out. 



200 A WEEK AT KILLARXEY 



appeared to have been merely scooped out, and in a very rough manner ; there 
was no evidence of the exercise of skill, except that the corners of two of the rooms 
were formed by a wall of uncemented stones, each about 14 inches by 7, and evi- 
dently selected with some care. These had been laid one above another from the 
floor to, we imagine, within two feet of the roof ; they of course passed consider- 
ably higher than the rooms, which, we have observed, were only five feet high. 

A question will naturally occur — what was the motive for forming this sin- 
gular, and apparently useless, excavation : if constructed for human habitation, it 
would be difficult to devise one more unnaturally uncomfortable. In fact, no one 
who examines this series of chambers will for a moment entertain the idea that 
they were formed for human beings to live in. To determine their uses — whether 
for concealment, for religious rites, or for sepulchral purposes — must rest with 
others. We believe Mr. Windele is prosecuting researches that will throw light 
upon the singular subject ; and that in the course of his inquiries he has examined 
several similar " caves " in various parts of the south of Ireland. This one, so 
near a. neighbourhood where many persons will have leisure and inclination to 
gratify curiosity, may be considered as an acquisition of some value to the 
locality. At least, Sir Richard thinks we have added another lion to the many lions 
of Killarney ; and will of course — and as in duty bound — be very happy to conduct 
any adventurous tourist through the three mysterious chambers : still more happy 
will he be, and far more gratified shall we be to find him accompanying some one, 
who will make further and more minute inquiries than we were enabled to make 
— opening the other entrance we have indicated, and making a discovery, com- 
pared to which ours may be a mere rabbit-hole. 

We have still another Druidic remain to introduce to the reader. Those who 
walk in Lord Kenmare's beautiful demesne — opened to the townspeople on 
Sundays, and to strangers at all times — should 

on no account omit to visit the famous "Clough- 2§^#^ \JBp£^ 

na-Cuddy, "the stone of Cuddy. It is sur- "=^^^f" ''^^Ste, f^^TlfeST^ 
rounded by trees, chiefly hawthorn, of im- "lJliP§L "^.^ ^J Jfifesfc- 
mense age and growth, and planted in a circle. ^igSlfe i|j| ^dSPfe 1 ' 

From time immemorial this stone has been .^?~Slli^ft J??^?& 

considered holy by the peasantry. It is visited ^^ _ v "^^ == ^ :sX ^^^-^?5-'" 

continually by the ailing — the blind particu- 
larly, who wash their eyes with the water 
contained in two holes here indicated. 

When the Tourist has examined Clough-na-Cuddy, the circle of Loisavigeen, 
the Logan Stone in the Gap, the Ogham Library, and our cave, he will have, 
perhaps, a clearer notion of the works of the Druids than he can have within an 
equally limited space elsewhere. 



THE LAUNE. DUNLOE CASTLE. 201 



Another of the beautiful drives about Killamey is the drive to Lord Kenmare's 
Deer Park. The road to the right leads to a very extensive view, but that to the 
left conducts to a delicious little glen, through which the coquettish Deenagh 
meanders, — dimpling, and brawling, and eddying. 

Let no one leave Killarney without rowing a mile or two down the Laune, and 
visiting Dunloe Castle by water; — as we did, in the "gloaming " of a summer even- 
ing, when the lake was calm — the grey fly floating on its surface, and the salmon 
and trout springing from the waters. As you turn into the Laune, the current 
flows so silently that you will wonder how it is you rush past the ferry, and then 
float on through a wilderness of water-beauty. The river widens at each side . into 
little bays, over-arched by trees, of the most luxuriant growth, and foliage of every 
tint ; then turns, so that you get another view of the mountains of the Gap to the 
left ; while on the right all is of the most soft and sylvan beauty ; then " the bittern 
sounds his drum," 

" Booming from the sedgy shallow ; " 

or a heron flaps past ; or the grey hawk screams from the mountains ; and the 
small shriek of the plover is answered by the plunge which the wild duck or the 
coot makes into the water — disturbed from the rushes by the stroke of our 
oar, fall it ever so lightly ; or perchance an eagle comes soaring from the cliffs, 
where his eyry has been time out of mind, not deigning to notice the world 
beneath ; the small trout spring on both sides, so that the river is dimpled 
all over ; every bush and brake is full of existence : — you hear the low of the 
mountain cattle, and the bleat of the wild goat ; and you see the thin wreath 
of cottage smoke toiling through the atmosphere ; and then there are fresh 
bays, and creeks, and huge trees lying almost across the stream ; and a troop 
of ponies shake their ragged manes at you, and then neigh and gallop into 
the thicket; and the clouds that float above you, and above the glorious Reeks, are 
" fresh from the pavilion of the setting sun," — some pale as the leaves of mountain- 
roses, or tinged with a faint primrose, or so filmy, and white, and tender, that you 
see the blue sky beyond them, and a star or two glancing therein ; and then — but 
here stands the Castle on its bold promontory above the river — a firm, fearless 
looking keep, approached by a steep hill-road, recalling, both by its shape and 
situation, one of the Rhine towers. Land by all means, and, as it is permitted, 
ascend ; and, passing through a turngate, walk along the terrace, which commands 
a view of the magnificent slopes, which a little pains might easily convert into 
hanging gardens. The greater part of the kitchen-offices were burnt down by 
accident some years ago, so that the dwelling-castle has a gaunt and isolated 
appearance in accordance with the wild mountain scenery. Major Mahony's 
hospitality was known to every visitor of the Lakes in by-gone days ; and his son, 
the present possessor of Dunloe Castle, is universally respected. We heard much 

o 



202 A WEEK AT KILLABNEY. 



to his honour in his immediate neighbourhood. We were never more struck by the 
grandeur of a situation than while rambling through the woods and by the river- 
side : the evening was deepening into night, and it became difficult to determine 
where the Reeks ended and the clouds began. 

When we re-entered our boat, the mists were rolling up ; the mountains, and the 
water, and atmosphere, appeared of the same tone of colour — almost of the same 
quality. Occasionally a distant bugle would tell the return of some party who had 
been rowing on the lake. As we passed the ferry, we could hear the chorus of a 
song, while the figures of the singers were dim and phantasmagoriac. On the flat 
beyond, lights sparkled through the windows of the picturesque residence on 
" Mahony's Point; ; " and so dim and indistinct had all things become before we 
reached the Victoria Pier, that the glancing lights in our hotel seemed dancing in 
mid-air. 

There must be limits to every human work ; and in book-making they are 
specially prescribed. Our space is exhausted before the subject.* Yet we cannot 
conclude our introduction to " the Lakes " without giving some account of that 
which every Tourist is pretty nearly certain to encounter — a wet day. 

We shall picture one — or rather two — and require no aid from fancy. 

Pour — pour — pour — a thorough day of Kiliarney rain — pour — pour — pour 
— unceasingly. The noble trees of Mucross absolutely bend beneath the weight 
of waters. The cock who crowed so proudly yesterday, and carried his tail as 
if it were a banner, has just tottered past, his crested neck stooped, and his 
long feathers trailing in the mud ; — the hens have disappeared altogether. 
The pigs ! — no one ever did see a pig at liberty about Cloghreen ; — compulsatory 
stay-at-homes ! But there is a pony waiting to carry some one up Mangerton 
— his ears laid back, and the water flowing down his sides. Three of the glen girls, 

* Among the inducements to visit the Lakes, there is one we cannot omit to notice. For a 
description of it we must draw upon a friend, as we were not ourselves fortunate enough to 
witness it ; we allude to one of Killarney's far-famed stag-hunts. Both our visits to the Lakes 
were paid during months when the young fawns were about, and when a " stag hunt " was 
impossible without doing much mischief. It is not generally known that the mountains abound 
with red deer. Tore alone contains many hundreds, and in the summer evenings they may be 
heard belling on all sides of its lake. The hounds are now kept by Mr. Herbert ; — a famous 
pack, well suited to the wildness of these glens. The place of meeting on this occasion was 
Derricunnihy, the beautiful cascade on the Upper Lake. The morning was fine, and we pro- 
cured one of the many fine boats which are to be hired at Kiliarney. They were all in requi- 
sition ; nothing could surpass the beauty of the scene as we threaded along the various windings 
between the Tipper and Lower Lakes; boats, lustily manned, filled with ladies, whose gay attire 
and cheerful faces caused even the mountains to sing with pleasure, — for the merry laugh from 
each boat as it passed the far-famed Eagle's Nest was returned tenfold by its echoes, which 
kept up a constant reply to the view-halloo of the boatmen, the bugle of the helmsman, and the 



A AVET DAY AT KILLARNEY. 203 



with their goats'-milk and potteen, have stood for at least two hours under what, in 
ordinary weather, would be called " the shelter of the trees," — but now the trees 
look as if they themselves wanted shelter. And so the glen girls — with their 
yellow streaming hair — and piggins and bottles, and cracked tea-cups — have 
disappeared. Dill, poor little fuzzy-faced dog, has crept into the parlour wet and 
shivering, — and is now looking up at the fire, composed of logs of holly and huge 
lumps of turf — in a distrait sort of way — not grinning as usual, the nearest 
approach to a human laugh we ever saw on a dog's face. The men who passed 
and repassed yesterday, carrying hampers of turf slung across their shoulders — 
what has become of them % Certainly they did not hurry at their occupation, 
but took it easy — "very asy ;" lounging along in a somnambulist sort of style, 
indicative of a strong desire for repose. A few of the village children have 
passed to the pretty school ; and they have either galloped through the rain 
like young rough-shod colts, or gone in detachments — threes and fours — 
sheltered beneath their mother's cloak — a moving tent of grey or blue cloth. 
Every thing appears shivering and nerveless — Nature's energies seem washed 
away — the calf that was "mooing" all yesterday to its mother has not the 
spirit now to move its tasselled tail, or raise its ears, or ask for a drop of 
milk. The gentle patient " fishing gentleman," whom three years ago we left in a 
boat on Tore Lake, and discovered on the very same spot this summer — he 
whose name is never mentioned without a blessing — has come forth — looked up 
— shook his head twice at the clouds — then disappeared altogether, to tie flies 
— or perhaps count, as we have been doing, the number of rain-drops hanging 
from the window-frame — and wondering which will fall first. A little shock- 
headed girl, whose wild eyes glitter from out her hair, her cloak hanging in 
what artists call wet drapery around her, has just brought in news that the 
bridge is under water. — " The Flesk Bridge ! " we repeat in astonishment. " No, 

fainter cadence of the female voice. At length we reached the Upper Lake, and were surprised 
at the number, beauty, and appointments of the various boats ; — Lord Headley's with his crew, 
Mr. O'Connell's, O'Sullivan's, &c. &c, the flags bearing their respective mottoes, all eagerly 
awaiting the moment of action. At length Mr. Herbert arrived in a splendid cutter, manned 
by some old college friends, himself pulling stroke — his blue banner bearing the title of his 
bark, the " Colleen Dhas " (the beautiful maid). The hounds were now laid on, and soon 
made the echoes ring with their music. We pulled along shore parallel with their cry ; at length 
we turned into a bay at the bottom of the lake, and then lay-to by the advice of our boatmen. 
We had scarcely reached the spot when the helmsman raised his hand in silence, and pointed 
towards the glena; we saw a majestic stag bounding towards us. Within a few yards of our 
boat he dashed into the lake, and was quickly followed by the hounds, tracking him with fatal 
accuracy. They soon reached the opposite shore, and climbed the mountain side ; at length 
the bugle sounded, and a hundred voices proclaimed that the monarch of Tore had fallen. The 
novelty of the scene, the excitement of the peasantry, the beauty of the rowing — all contributed 
to render interesting this novel pastime. 

02 



204 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



de road ladin' from Klarney town to de bridge." " And how did you come 1" 
" Trough de water." The little girl's arrival is an event ; for we seem shut in 
from every external thing this morning, save the sound of the ponring rain : 
even the arbutus girls, the Killarney accompaniments, have not made their 
appearance. If we open a book we cannot read, for we are watching to see if there 
is any chance of the clouds breaking ; we look out of the window, grumbling, 
and discontented, instead of being thankful that we are not undergoing qua- 
rantine in the dirty beggar-crowded town of Killarney, instead of Roche's pretty 
Hotel at Cloghreen — or, as it was once called Droumirourk, — at the foot of 
broad-backed Mangerton, almost within sound of the thunder of Tore Water- 
fall, and opposite the bowers and groves of Mucross. How different is the soft 
splashy sound of the bare-footed peasants, who, at long intervals, slop past the 
windows, to the sharp clinking pattens of English dwellers in country villages ! 
We have heard no baying from the deep-mouthed hounds this morning, though 
usually they make the village ring with it — particularly if Spillane or young Gand- 
sey, soimd their bugles. If the rain ceases even for a minute, thrush and blackbird 
burst into a loud song of joy, — and Jerry Connor, most attentive of waiters, 
watchful of the weather, pops in to tell us, " that though it's terrible rain intirely 
for the time of year — glory be to God ! — yet the glass is rising, or — going to rise." 
Then ]Mr. Roche comes in with information, that never was any thing so magni- 
ficent as the boiling flood at the Old Weir bridge caused by last night's storm ; — 
and that we really must drive to Dinis Island, and see it — no matter " the pour ; " 
we might come to Killarney a hundred times — and never see the Old Weir in so 
much glory ; the foresters have been in the woods since daybreak, clearing away 
the branch- wrecks of the hurricane ; and the torrent wreaths itself into foam — 
curling above the arches. Our worthy landlord says it is worth enduring a week's 
confinement from rain and storm to see the Lakes roller than they have been for 
twenty years ; to see the Old Weir foaming and shaking — and to see Tore 
Waterfall dashing down his eighty-foot torrent — with as much zeal and energy 
as if he was " got up " to please the Queen ! It is therefore decided that though 
the rain pours as violently as ever; that though Jerry — always ready to hope 
in the very teeth of despair — can only say he thinks " the glass has a mind to 
rise ; " still we are to drive to Dinis Island in a covered car — and there get out 
and look at the Old Weir in his " flurry." At what hour are we to set out 1 
Mr. Roche, the most provident of all major-domos, says at twelve ; but then 
comes the question, by which of the two clocks are our movements to be 
decided? Mr. Roche shook his head and smiled — he, or some one else, had 
regulated the clocks yesterday ; and yet — the clocks would not keep together ! 

Clocks have been remarkable for having a will and a way of then* own 
since their creation : one would almost fancy it impossible for so much obstinacy 



THE TWO CLOCKS. 205 



to be enclosed in such proper, discreet-looking mahogany cases. But these two 
clocks appear to us to be more opposed to each other's opinions than any clocks 
we ever met before. When first we came, if the hall clock struck three, the 
clock on the landing would remain most obstinately silent for about three quarters 
of an hour, when it would, in a loud and decided tone of voice, proclaim the hour 
to be two j in another quarter the hall commander would maintain the justness of 
his own opinion by striking four, which statement the landing clock would reply 
to some time after by saying it was three ; the housemaids seemed to think the 
landing clock was the most correct, because "it was the ouldest." Jerry put 
faith in neither, but, treating both with singular disrespect, always appealed to his 
" own repater," which he said kept good Cork time. We think the cook must 
have had an oracle of her own, for she certainly did not keep time either with the 
hall or the landing. The three quarters opposition had ceased during the last 
two days : but the two clocks had gone off on another tack • the hall clock would 
begin gravely and soberly to tell forth the hour, and, supposing it was five when it 
struck as far as three, whir ! bang ! the landing clock would begin — strike, strike, 
strike, as fast as possible, until it got on to the insane number of thirteen or fifteen, 
when, as if out of breath from the exertion, it would make a sudden pause, and 
then mutter one or two click clicks, as much as to say " I talked him down." We 
asked the housemaid what she had to say to her favourite after that ; and she 
replied, that " the hands were right enough, but that it had grown weak inside 
from hard work." The clocks were evidently of opposite parties, so opposed to 
each other that they would not work together: whatever one proclaimed right, 
the other protested to be wrong. The one in the hall had four anchors at the 
four corners of its fair clean face, emblematic, doubtless, of its maker's hope that 
it would keep good time. There are castles and a ship at the top — Black Rock 
Castle, perhaps ; the maker's name, " James Byrom, Cork," a right good name. Now 
for the one, the opposition clock, that will not hear what his neighbour has to 
say, but will talk him down ; while the other, just as violently, continues on his own 
course. The landing clock is simply ornamented with a bunch of roses, "James Byrom, 
Cork ! " both by the same maker, both made in the same town, both probably 
by the same hands, both perhaps out of the very same tree ! — yet — no harmony 
between them ; rather than go together they will both go wrong : if the clockmaker 
set them "alike, and we think they are proceeding harmoniously together, some 
shake, or " filthy pebble in the wheel of justice," is sure to set them at loggerheads 
again : if they jog on in clicking amity for half an hour, be sure they differ upon 
some mite, some flaw, some thread of time, in which neither are right ; and so 
away they go, in error both, and, what is worse, setting the whole house by the ears, 
because of their trumpery party differences, which, like the big Endians and little 
Endians of Gulliver, seem matters of nothing to all else in the world. 



206 A WEEK AT KILLAENEY. 



But it is a matter of moment to be ready in time for our car, — inculcating a 
lesson of punctuality in others by being punctual ourselves. So we agree to "never 
mind" the clocks, but attend to Jerry's watch, which is " always with Cork ;" and 
the diiver, Jerry Sullivan, being as quick and as anxious to gratify us as the waiter 
Jerry Connor, we migrate from the dwelling house to the covered car. It is 
a sort of miniature wagon; and though the wind still blows, and the rain still 
pours, we heed neither, but drive through the Mucross gate. Certainly the Kerry 
people are the civilest and gentlest in all Ireland, — ever ready and good-natured. 
It pours incessantly ; yet the driver Jerry, heedless of the rain, only hopes we shall 
get a view of something, for we deserve it. The beautiful cows are grouped under 
the trees that so often afford them shelter — but now each leaf is a water-spout. 
We can only distinguish the outline of the Abbey — pour — pour — the lake has 
overflowed all its banks, and we splash through the water where the road is 
generally high and dry. Suddenly, as we arrive at Brickeen Bridge, the rain ceases, 
and while we get out of the car the sun bursts forth through the gorged clouds ; 
his face has a damp drowned aspect, yet words convey no idea of the effect of the 
sudden sunshine on the landscape ; the view, both to the right and left, created, 
as it were, in a moment by the sudden burst of light, is magical ; the clouds 
roll up the mountains — woods, hills, valleys, rocks, cascades, are all illuminated : 
but, in less time than we have taken to write this line, the sun is again enclosed 
by a wall of black clouds ; the vapours pour down the mountains, and we are 
thankful, as we ought to be, for the shelter of the " covered car." We dash 
through the drive that girdles the beautiful demesne ; up hill and down dale ; 
Jerry pausing every now and then, and exclaiming, " Oh ! den, but it is a pity ! 
dere is a beautiful view, just dere ! — Well, praise to de Almighty, but it is 
a wonderful day of rain, and no end to it." We get out at Dinis Island, and 
walk through the poiuing shower to the best point for seeing the Old Weir. Ay ! 
that is indeed worth seeing — it is almost impossible to believe we have ever glided 
under that arch, as if floating on air ; the mountain streams are rushing down on 
every side ; they have roused the lake ; torrent meets torrent in fierce encounter ; 
they lash each other, and foam and raise their crested heads, until the Old Weir 
bridge seems to sink into the raging flood. It is really very glorious — "well 
worth the trouble % " — yes — certainly — very well worth seeing, although it be of 
all others the thing in nature most distasteful — a beauty in a passion. 

Again the rain has ceased— paused suddenly. According to Jerry, " de day has 
taken up for good;" and, after a little more driving, we arrive at the mysterious- 
looking green gate that admits to the path leading to the Tore Waterfall. We 
climb the ascent, slippery though it is ; and certainly the waterfall is beautiful — 
roaring in its pride of power as it dashes on — one mass of crystal foam over the 
ledge ; we never saw it in such perfection. The surrounding woods are so dark 



THUNDER-STOKM AT KILLARNEY. 207 



and heavy from recent rain, that the foaming torrent looks doubly bright ; in 
general, there is a yellow tone of colour, as if some clayey matter was mingled 
with the water; but here every drop is clear — pure — transparent — pellucid. 
From the height where we stand to the lowest fall it is one mass of sparkling 
crystal : the sunbeams fall occasionally upon the haze that floats like a halo above 
the falls, imparting the hues of earth's brightest gems to the trembling dews — 
violet and amber — a hundred tints of light and glory. 

As we entered our hotel the clocks were at loud variance • the hall clock de- 
liberately beating three, while that on the landing rattled on — ding — ding — ding 
— until it paused, from fatigue it is to be supposed, at twelve. 

" The clocks are gone to folly," said Jerry ; " but it is well to have a repater in 
the house that keeps Cork time." 

Courteous reader ! Has our wet day wearied you 1 Not, perhaps, if you have 
been actually shut up, because the pour, pour, has kept you a prisoner ; and, if you 
have had no rain, you have been better occupied than in testing the truth of this 
picture. We shall try your patience, however ; for having described a wet day at 
Roche's, we must, in common fairness, describe one at the Victoria ! Remember 
we spent ten days at the one hotel, and ten days at the other ; and do you imagine 
we passed twenty days with but one " wet day ? " 

"We had attended service in the pretty church of Aghadoe, which the good taste 
of Lady Headley is rendering exceedingly picturesque by the addition of a tower. 
After service we had a delightful drive through the Headley Woods, catching occa- 
sional glimpses of the lakes and the surrounding scenery ; the coney and the hare 
crossing the road and bounding up the tangled banks every moment. We 
hastened through the drives ; for the mountains were backed by a deep lurid light, 
and huge drops of rain splashed amid the trees, — mountain mutterings told of the 
coming storm. We had hardly reached the shelter of our hotel when the thun- 
der began in right down earnest ; and glorious it was — commencing behind the 
Reeks, rushing through the Gap of Dunloe — then, bursting forth anew above the 
Toomies, and shaking the echoes of Glena, pealing hoarsely through the glens and 
fastnesses of Mangerton — broad, hoary Mangerton ! — while the lightning played 
like a diadem around the beautiful brow of Tore. We sat at the open window of the 
Victoria, which commanded a panoramic view of the mountains we have named 
— Inisfallen sleeping in the dark waters of the lake beneath. Every other sound was 
hushed — even the rail ceased its croaking ; — all was silent, save the eagle, whose 
broken wing secures its liberty in the grounds of the hotel ; and as it sat upon the 
garden-seat, its head outstretched to the mountains, to which it could never soar, it 
answered each fresh peal of thunder with a scream, bending as if to listen for the 
echoes, which, rolling amid the mountains, now loudly, now indistinctly, were 
indeed most glorious ! Sometimes the thunder crashed, as if one fierce cloud en- 



208 A WEEK AT KILLARNEY. 



countered another — and then the royal bird clapped his wing as if in triumph. 
We would have given much to have seen him soaring away through the storm, — 
one of the grandest, the boatman said, they had witnessed for many years. 

And now that we have advised the reader how even out of a wet day at Kil- 
lamey he may obtain some enjoyment, let us bid the pleasant subject farewell. 

The tourist who follows in our track will not require to be told that we have 
rendered very insufficient justice to the exceeding beauty of the Killarney Lakes ; 
or that we have passed over some objects of great interest and value, from which 
he will not fail to derive amusement, instruction, and enjoyment. It is indeed 
difficult, if it be not actually impossible, to convey a notion of the numerous 
and wonderful attractions of these Lakes. The pen of the writer and the pencil 
of the artist will equally fail to picture them, for they are undergoing perpetual 
changes that cannot be described ; and it will not be easy to recognise at noon, or 
at evening, the scenes that may have been closely examined, and even copied, in 
the morning ; so infinitely varied are the effects produced by the peculiar fluctua- 
tions of light and shade that occur over the whole district — the islands, the shores, 
the water, and the mountains. 

Yet, we trust, our main purpose has been worked out ; — to supply an agreeable 
and useful Companion to those who visit the district, and to increase the number 
of Tourists thither, by exhibiting the almost inexhaustible fund of enjoyment 
supplied by 

The Killaeney Lakes. 




APPENDIX. 



GUIDE-NOTES. 




hese Guide-notes are designed to supply the Tourist with sueh in- 
formation as he may require, or desire, connected with his visit to the 
Lakes. We shall endeavour to describe the several routes to Kil- 
larney, and the peculiar advantages presented by each. Our object is 
not only to communicate necessary instructions for his guidance, but 
to offer such information as may be useful and agreeable, and pre- 
dispose him to receive the enjoyment offered to him in many different 
ways on many different occasions. In order to do this effectually, we 
have not suffered ourselves to fear any danger of being too minute, of descending to 
trifling particulars, or of treating seriously topics which some persons may consider 
beneath their notice. Generally we have kept in view the wants and wishes of persons 
who — like ourselves — desire to see all of the beautiful that may be seen, and to convert 
leisure hours into lessons of information as well as into sources of enjoyment; yet who are 
compelled continually to bear in mind that no purse was ever inexhaustible. 



Tourists to Killarney will select one of two ways of proceeding thither, — either that by 
Dublin or that by Cork. To those who proceed by way of Dublin, by the London and 
North Western Railway, the following card has been addressed : 

" In order to give the Public facilities for visiting these Lakes, and the adjacent country, 
arrangements have been renewed between the London and North Western Eailway Company, 
the Chester and Holyhead Eailway Company, and the Great Southern and Western Railway 
Company, by which Visitors from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester, 
will be enabled on and after the 1st May, and until the 30th of September, to proceed from any 
of the following Stations, to Holyhead and Kingston. 

FARES : 

.London to Killarney and back . 

Birmingham do. do 

Manchester do. do 

Chester do. do 

" The Tickets will be available for return on any day within three weeks of the date of issue, 
and will also entitle the Bearer to pass Free over the Great Southern and Western Railway from 
Dublin to Killarney, and Cork, and over its Branches, during the whole period for which the 
Ticket is issued. 

" The Great Southern and Western Railway being open to Mallow, Coaches are constantly 



1st Class. 
£ s. 
6 


2d Class 
£ s. 
5 


5 


4 5 


4 4 


3 10 


4 


3 5 



210 APPENDIX. 



running between that Station and Killarney, the fare by which once each way outside during 
the Visitor's stay is included in the above charges. 

" Parties wishing to break the journey to Dublin, may stop at any Station between Chester 
and Holyhead for a day, provided they do not travel twice over the same portion of the Chester 
and Holyhead Eailavay." 

Arrangements with this Company also convey passengers, at proportionate rates, from 
Cambridge and Norwich ; and also from various parts of Ireland. 

The journey to Holyhead is made in eight and a half hours : and the voyage to Kingstown 
in four hours : the Packets are large and admirably managed : the fare across (of course 
included in the Company's return tickets) is lis. including the steward. Landing at Kingstown, 
a charge of 2>d. is made for conveying each large package (small parcels not charged) to the 
Station: the fare by railway to Dublin is Is. first class: 8c?. second class. Cars are in 
waiting at the Station to convey passengers to all parts of Dublin, at Qd. the journey, or Is. 
the hour. 

The journey by the Grand Junction Railway to Liverpool is made in seven hours. The 
mail packets leave Liverpool every evening at eight ; fare 20s. There is no difficulty what- 
ever in proceeding to Dublin without stopping in Liverpool — by taking the morning mail 
train. The morning mail train leaves the Euston Square station at a quarter before 10 ; 
fare 21. 16s. There is no second class carriage by the mail train. The steam packets from 
Dublin make the voyage often in ten hours; an average voyage is twelve hours. They 
are admirably arranged for convenience and comfort. 

There are many excellent Hotels in Dublin; and also unexceptionable "Family" Hotels. 

The Great Southern and Western Station, is about a mile from the centre of Dublin : the 
Station, as we have elsewhere observed, is a remarkably handsome building ; and the whole 
of the arrangements connected with the establishment are conducted upon a liberal scale, 
with a view to the comfort and convenience of passengers. 

The route to Mallow we have described : arrived at Mallow, the Tourist either proceeds 
by the Railway to Cork, or leaves the Railway here, and proceeds by Coach to Killarney. 
The distance is 42 English miles : he may however proceed direct, or he may sleep at 
Mallow and continue his journey the next day. A very comfortable Hotel has been recently 
established in Mallow, by Mr. P. O'Brien, who for many years drove the Cork and Limerick 
coach ; Mrs. O'Brien herself attends to the wants of the guests, a circumstance not very 
common in Ireland ; and we can promise travellers that here they will receive in comforts 
ample compensation for the absence of state. 

A coach leaves Mallow for Killarney every morning at ten o'clock, arriving at three ; and 
another at four, which arrives at nine. There are of course plenty of post horses at Mallow. 

Most tourists, however, will no doubt proceed to Cork, and after visiting the beautiful 
city, proceed by one of the routes we have described, or, returning to Mallow, enter the 
coach to Killarney, wliich a "journey ticket" enables him to do. 

The journey by the Great Western Railway occupies somewhat less than three hours 
from between the London Station at Paddington, and the Station at Bristol. 

The Great Western Railway Company have entered into arrangements with the Cork 



APPENDIX. 211 



Steam Packet Company to book Passengers through to Cork, via Bristol, by ordinary trains, 

at the following rates : 

£ s. 

First Class Kailway and Steam Boat 2 5 

Second do. do. 1 18 

Third do. do. 16 

Packets leave the Cumberland Basin, Bristol, twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday. 
The hours of starting are regulated by the tides ; but monthly lists are printed, and may be 
referred to at any of the Railway offices. When the packet sails in the morning, the 
Tourist may proceed over-night to one of the hotels adjacent to the Cumberland Basin ; — 
but arrangements may, generally, be made so as to avoid the necessity of any delay in 
Bristol ; proceeding at once from the steam-carriage to the steam-boat. 

The Cork and Bristol steam-boats, although fitted up with due regard to comfort, are by 
no means so admirably arranged as the Packets which voyage from Liverpool to Dublin, 
or those from Holyhead to Dublin. They depend for profit upon cargoes of merchandise ; 
and, cattle being the principal export trade, it will be infinitely more pleasant to an English 
traveller to take this route going to, than returning from, Cork. The average voyage is 
twenty-six hours ; it is sometimes performed in twenty-four, and not unfrequently occupies 
twenty-eight. The distance between the two ports, " from quay to quay," is 250 miles. 
The steam-boat cannot pass to the quay at Cork at all times of tide ; passengers are some- 
times necessarily landed at Passage ; from whence there is a railway conveyance to Cork 
every two hours : the distance, seven miles, is performed in twenty minutes ; the fares are, 
6d. first class, 4<d. second class. 

There are several good hotels in Cork. That with which we are best acquainted, and 
believe to be the most excellent, is the " Imperial," situate on the South Mall. In no part of 
England is there an establishment better managed, or one that more effectually combines 
economy with comfort. It is now kept by Mrs. Cotton — a Scotch woman ; but it has at all 
times maintained a very high character. 

Having arrived in Cork, the Tourist will be called upon to determine the mode by which 
he will proceed to Killarney. Let us offer him a choice of routes ; and, that he may be 
enabled to make a selection, it is necessary to explain the advantages proffered by each. 

1st Boute. The shortest, simplest, most direct, and least interesting, is that by Macroom, 
through Ballyvourney and Glennesk. It is usually posted (in post-chaises or one-horse cars) 
in three stages ; thus, horses must be ordered the day before to be ready at Macroom ; these 
convey the carriage to Glennesk, where it is met by horses, previously ordered, from 
Killarney. A three-horse car runs every other day on this road — fare 5s., leaving Cork at 
8 a. m. Leaves Cork Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The distance by this route is 58 
miles. Distances — 

To Macroom 25 miles, "j 

Glennesk 23 — > 58 miles. 

Killarney 10 -- ) 

Not unfrequently, however, the horses hired at Macroom proceed the whole way to 
Killarney — a very long stage. The wisest plan will be to order relays either from either 



212 APPENDIX. 



hotel at Killarney, to be in waiting at Glenflesk; or by avoiding Glenflesk, and taking 
the road through Millstreet, horses may be obtained there. 

2d Route. By far the best and most interesting of the several routes to Killarney is 
that which leads to Glengariff or Bantry, and thence to Kenmare, through Macroom and 
Inchageela, and which must be travelled in private or hired cars or carriages, for no public 
conveyances take this road. Horses are kept at a small house for refreshments at "the turn" 
to Gougane Barra. The distances by this route are — 

To Macroom 25 miles. 

Gougane Barra 21 — 

Glengariff 21 — 

Kenmare , . 20 — 

Killarney 21 — 

This route supposes that the Tourist will not visit Bantry. The distance from Gougane 
Barra to Bantry is 18 miles ; and from Bantry to Glengariff 10 miles. The road to both 
places is the same, until within two miles of Bantry, when it branches off to Bantry. 

3d Route. The Coast Road. The Mail to Bantry. — The Bantry mail leaves an office 
adjacent to the "Imperial Hotel" every morning at 15 minutes to 5 a.m. ; arriving at Bantry 
at 40 minutes past 2 p.m. Fares, 10s. in, 7 s. 6d. out. Distances — 

To Inishannon 15| miles. 

Bandon 4| — 

Cl™ ak % 12f - 

Rosscarbery 8^- — 

Skibbereen 12| — 

Bantry * . 18£ — 

There is a route by omnibus and railway to Bandon, and coach to Dunmanway and 
Bantry. Cork 11 a. m., Bantry 7 p. m. Distances — 

To Bandon 20 miles, a 

Dunmanway .18 — > 60 miles. 

Bantry . . 22 — J 

Erom Bantry, a public car proceeds every morning at 8 o'clock for Killarney, through 
Glengariff and Kenmare. Pare 7s. It stops one hour at Glengariff. Perhaps, the best way 
to proceed is to take boat at Bantry, and cross the bay — seven miles — to Glengariff, where 
the journey may be continued either by the public car, or by private car or carriage with 
post horses. The roads from Cork to Bantry are remarkably good — a new line has been 
recently made through Dunmanway. On this road, however, post horses cannot be obtained 
between Bandon and Bantry. They must be either sent on from Bandon, or ordered from 
Bantry to Dunmanway. The railroad from Cork to Bandon is now open. 

These several routes are from Cork to Killarney. The routes from Limeeick to 
Killarney remain to be described. 

Arrived at Limerick, the Tourist will select one of three routes. 



APPENDIX. 213 



1st Route. By mail, daily ; fares, 12s. inside, 7s. Qd. outside. Distances — 

To Adare 8 miles. 

Rathkeal 9| — 

Newcastle 7\ — 

Abbeyfeale 13 — 

Castle-Island 14 — 

Killarney 15 — 

Leave Limerick 3.15 A. m. ; Killarney, 12 noon. This mail travels from Limerick to Tralee ; 
but a car between Killarney and Castle-Island conveys passengers to meet the coach. 

2d Koute. The route by way of Tarbert through Tralee. The Tourist proceeds by steam- 
boat from Limerick to Tarbert (about 35 miles). The journey to Tarbert can be made by 
land, through Askeaton ; but there is no inducement to this route ; while the voyage 
down the Shannon is a most rare treat. Arrived at Tarbert, the distances are — 

To Listowel 10| miles. J 

Tralee 16 — >46£ miles. 

Killarney 20 — ) 

Tourists who proceed by public conveyances must take the coach or car from Killarney to 
Tralee. Cars for Listowel and Tarbert leave Tralee every evening at 3 o'clock, fare Is. 6d. 
But these machines are suited only to persons who are indifferent to comfort. Upon one 
of them we saw packed seventeen passengers, with every imaginable variety of luggage, 
from a bandbox to a reaping-hook. Indeed, those who desire to take this route for the 
sake of voyaging the magnificent and beautiful Shannon, should hire cars or carriages. 
The public cars from Tarbert to Tralee wait at Tarbert the arrival of the packet. A car 
starts from Tarbert at 6 every morning, arriving at Tralee at a quarter before 11 ; fare Is. 6d. 

Posting is Is. a mile, by post-chaise ; and by car, 6c?. a mile for one person, 8d. for two 
persons, and lOd. for three persons. This rule is pretty nearly established throughout 
Ireland ; but in some places 8^. will be required in all cases, whether for one passenger 
or four. The post-boys expect 3d. a mile for post-chaises, and \\d. a mile for cars. 

It is necessary to bear in mind that the relative proportions of English and Irish miles are 
as 11 to 14, — 11 Irish miles being 14 English. Distances are calculated as English miles 
on all roads south of Cork and Limerick ; and as Irish miles north of those cities. 

Our recommendation, then, is that the Tourist proceed to Killarney, from Cork, 
through Macroom, Gougane Barra, Glengariff and Kenmare ; leaving Killarney by way 
of Tralee, the Shannon and Limerick ; or by the direct coach route through Millstreet 
to Mallow, and thence to Dublin by railway. It is obvious, that in the two first cases, 
he must have a greater command of time and money than he need have in the latter case. 

He will thus have seen a very large proportion of the most interesting and remarkable 
districts of the South of Ireland; and, we say again, will have enjoyed a treat such as can 
be surpassed in no country in the world. 

Macroom. — William's Inn at Macroom, the only one in the town, will be found tolerably 



-14 APPENDIX. 



comfortable — tolerably only ; but the Tourist will rarely have occasiou to remain here a night. 
We have intimated that pre-arrangements will be necessary to secure the certainty of 
travelling onwards. 

Gougane Barra. — Mountain-plenty will be found in the cabin of Mr. Burke ; but those 
who cannot be content with potatoes, new milk, and fresh eggs, had better carry a 
larder with them. No regular charge is made by " the landlady ; " but she will be well 
satisfied with a shilling for each guest ; and half-a-crown will recompense Mr. Burke for 
his occupation as guide to the Holy Lake ; Burke also keeps post-horses, but they are 
" limited" in number. 

Bantry. — The Tourist will arrive at Bantry in due course, if he take the Coast Boad ; 
but, as we have observed, he will not necessarily enter that town, if his route be by 
Gougane Barra. Within two miles of Bantry he will be called upon to determine whether 
he continue on to Glengariff, eight miles, or journey these two miles for the sake of exam- 
ining Bantry ; resuming his tour by either retracing these two miles, and so posting on to 
Glengariff, or going to Glengariff across the Bay. At Bantry, Godson's Inn is sufficiently 
comfortable ; and the courteous and obliging landlord is unremitting in attentions to his 
guests. Posting to Glengariff — car, 65. Sd. ; post-chaise, 10s. Boat to cross the Bay — 
8s. four oars ; 10s. six oars ; 12s. six oars or eight oars, in largest size boat. The 
distance across the Bay by water is seven miles ; to Glengariff by land, ten miles. 

Glengariff. — The charges for boats are the same as at Bantry. Ten shillings is the 
charge for a boat with four oars, by the day, to visit the islands, or to make pleasure excur- 
sions. Here and at Bantry, however, the men will expect a gratuity ; and if the party be 
large, Is. to each — i. e. 5s., including Is. to the coxswain — will thoroughly content them. 
The Tourist will, as matter of course, remain a night at least at Glengariff. There is but 
one inn, kept by Mr. Eccles : it has been lately enlarged ; but it is capable of much improve- 
ment. The terms for entertainment are exceedingly moderate. We have elsewhere ob- 
served, that a public car travels daily from Bantry to Killarney, through Glengariff. It 
starts from Bantry at eight o'clock; stops an hour at Glengariff; arrives at Kenmare at 
half-past one, staying there twenty minutes for refreshment, and " arriving," according to 
the way-bill, " in the midst of nature's unrivalled beauties — Killarney — at the very moderate 
charge of seven shillings." Being established for the sole benefit of Tourists, the drivers are 
instructed to give any desired accommodation in the way of stopping, &c. 

Kenmare. — The inn in this town is, in all respects, good and comfortable ; many persons 
will prefer locating here to remaining a second night at Glengariff, inasmuch as in that case 
a vast deal of the beauty of Killarney may be seen on the first day of arrival. We recom- 
mend procuring a guide here, who, for half-a-crown, will accompany the Tourist, explaining 
the peculiarities of the Upper Lake, and pointing out its leading objects of attraction. An 
active lad will be found about the inn, capable of discharging this duty ; but it would be 
easy to send for Spillane to meet a party here. 

Limerick and its Routes. — The items that require consideration on these routes, 
although sufficiently numerous, are none of them unusual or remarkable. South of 



APPENDIX. 215 



the Shannon, visiting Kilmallock and other places of note, the Tonrist will find no diffi- 
culty in procuring " accomplished " companions to point out the " curosities ; " and north 
of the mighty river, in the neighbourhood of Kilrush, guiding is, as it is at Killarney, a 
regular trade. 

Cruise's Inn at Limerick is universally and deservedly praised; at Tarbert there is a 
" decent " inn ; at Listowel a very comfortable one ; and at Tralee there are two " good 
commercial inns." 

The expenses incident to travelling will be pretty nearly the same by either of these routes, 
the inn bills in the several towns being much alike ; i. e. 

s. d. 

Breakfast 16 

Dinner ; 2 

Tea 10 

Bed 16 

Everywhere the Tourist will find civility ; security for his property, whether he looks after 
it or not ; and an attentive zeal in ministering to his wants : we have never met a traveller 
who had lost property at an hotel in Ireland. 

Arrived at Killarney. The Tourist, on arriving at Killarney by any public carriage, 
will find cars in waiting from, the two hotels : no charge is made for conveyance, but the driver 
will expect sixpence. 

The Hotels. — It is necessary that we supply minute information concerning the Hotels, 
and other matters, upon a clear understanding concerning which, much of the Tourist's 
comfort and enjoyment will depend. 

As we have stated,. he will find two hotels in the town; " the Kenmare Arms," kept by 
Mr. Cotter, where he may be as comfortable as he can be, located in a close street ; and the 
" Hibernian Hotel," kept by Mr. O'Sullivan, by whom it has been recently taken, and who, 
we understand, resolves to make it much better than it has been. 

The Yictoria Hotel, the landlord of which is Mr. Thomas Finn, is a very extensive esta- 
blishment : it is not unusual, in busy times there, to make up eighty beds. The landlord 
understands his business ; and the landlady, an Englishwoman, rules her establishment ac- 
cording to English plans and habits. Every apartment is as neat, as clean, and as well 
ordered and arranged, as the room of a private mansion; and few private houses are 
better furnished ; the waiters are capital auxiliaries ; civil, attentive, and zealous to promote 
the comforts of the guests ; they are, too, well informed upon every subject on which the 
Tourist will require information. The cook is a " professed cook ; " and dinners are served 
in a style that would do no discredit to " Bond Street." 

The state to be obtained here must be of course paid for. The charges, however, are 
exceedingly reasonable, all things considered. The terms are, dinners, 3s. ; teas, Is. 6d. ; beds 
2s.; breakfast, Is. 8d.; sitting-room, 3*. and 5s.; servants are charged in the bill — moderately. 
Warm, tepid, and shower-baths have been fitted up in a convenient bath-room. It will be 
well for tourists, or parties who desire to locate at this hotel, to engage rooms a week or so 
before arrival ; for in the season it is not often that rooms remain even for a day unoccupied. 

Roche's Hotel— "The Herbert Arms" — is more limited in extent, but exceedingly 



216 APPENDIX. 



comfortable — made comfortable by the care and attention of the landlord, and all persons 
comiected with the establishment. The servants are ever on the alert to suggest enjoyments, 
or to facilitate the purpose of the Tourist. The waiters are intelligent, active, thoughtful, and 
most attentive. The car-drivers, too, are capital "helps" in a region where every step requires 
some aid or information. The charges are also very low. Breakfast, Is. 6d. ; dinner, 2s. 6d. ; 
tea, Is. 3d. ; bed, Is. 6d. No extra charge is made by Mr. Roche for a private sitting- 
room ; but of course one is not always to be obtained. 

The Lake Hotel, Castle Lough, the landlord of which is Mr. Thomas Cotter, who now 
keeps the Kenmare Arms, is, as we have elsewhere stated, most auspiciously located. It is 
a new establishment, opened only this year, 1850; but Mr. Cotter commences the under- 
taking with much experience and many friends — obtained by courtesy and attention to his 
guests, and by careful study of all the means by which to make them comfortable. His 
charges will be, we understand, the same as those at the Yictoria. 

Toec Yiew Hotel is another hotel commenced this season ; it is situated on the summit 
of a hill about a mile from the town and the lake, but commanding magnificent views of the 
scenery. The landlord, Mr. Hurley, is the father-in-law of Mr. Roche ; and the charges here 
are, we understand, the same as at the Herbert Arms. 

Private lodgings may generally be procured in the town. The prices of all the necessaries 
of life at Killarney are remarkably low. 

The Boats. — The boats at Killarney were, a few years ago, sources of exceeding an- 
noyance to the Tourist : the men were universally drunkards, always seeking to extort 
money from the stranger. Now-a-days the Tourist may as reasonably expect to see 
O'Donaghue himself as a drunken Killarney boatman ; and men more civil, attentive, and 
obliging, are to be found nowhere. The charges are 10s. a day, and 5s. for the dinner of 
five men — i. e. 15s. ; or 7s. 6d. for half a day, no charge for men's dinners being then made. 
It has been impossible to prevent the men from asking and expecting a gratuity when the 
day's voyaging is done. " Old custom" is more powerful than fear ; and — the boatmen will 
ask for money. We recommend its being given to them as a matter of course : an additional 
expenditure of 5s., i. e. Is. to each of the men, will not be felt by the Tourist ; and with this 
gratuity the men will be amply content. Their season is but a short one ; and their day's 
wages of Is. are grievously small. The point has been the subject of much discussion; we 
believe, however, it will be conceded by all Tourists ; and trust that, though the gratuity 
may not be pressed as a right, it will be universal in practice. 

Myles Sweeney is the commodore at the Yictoria, a better could not be found; the 
commodore at Roches is John Lowney, who has earned and deserved his cognomen of 
" Happy Jack." 

Fishermen. — The cost of a boat for a day's fishing is 5s. ; for an afternoon's fishing, 
2s. 6d. The fee of the fisherman is 3s. 6 d. There will be, however, a charge of Is. 6 d. for 
the use of flies — which all who want " a good day " should cheerfully pay. Good practical 
anglers, well acquainted with the lake, are to be procured at both the hotels. We had an 
exceedingly intelligent aid at the Yictoria, in the person of Myles Sweeney. He is a 
pleasant companion, as well as a right good angler : we camiot consign a brother of the 
angle to better hands. At Roche's side of the lake he will find, also, desirable auxiliaries. 



APPENDIX. 217 



We may state for the information of anglers who have had little experience in throwing a 
fly, that capital perch fishing is to be had on several parts of the lake, especially abont Ross 
Island. Stephen Spillane also throws a fly with skill, and will be a good aid to the 
angler : a skilful angler, and also a good boatman, is Thady Moynahan, at the Victoria. 

The Cars and Ponies. — The various "trips" to neighbouring sights are of course charged 
for at fixed prices. Thus, a car from Roche's to the Gap of Dunloe is 8*., the distance being 
thirteen miles from Cloghreen, ten miles from Yictoria ; the ponies who meet the Tourists 
in the Gap, and carry them through, are 4s. each. To Carran Tuel the pony is charged 5s., 
and the car 10s. 6d. ; the distance from the hotel being much greater. Roche's, however, 
being close to Mangerton, no car is required to visit the mountain from thence, and the pony 
is charged 3s. These charges vary a little from those at the Yictoria, inasmuch as that hotel 
is four miles nearer the Gap of Dunloe and Carran Tuel, and four miles farther from 
Mangerton, Mucross, and the "New Line." The fee usually paid the car-drivers for the 
day is 2s. 6d. ; the pony -guides, Is. The principal car-driver at the Yictoria is " a capital 
hand" — Micky Sullivan ; we have spoken of him elsewhere ; he is, indeed, moreover, almost 
as good as a guide to every part of the locality. 

The Guides. — Upon the guides will depend much of the information to be acquired, and 
the enjoyment to be obtained, by Tourists. The fees they expect will be 2s. M. a day, if 
retained for some days ; 3s. 6d. if engaged for only one day ; 5s. if the guide is also the 
bugler ; and 5s. if the day's work be to ascend Carran Tuel or Mangerton. Those, however, 
who desire to economise, will always find guides by dozens at the mountain's foot, any one 
of whom will be amply content with half-a-crown. 

The Buglers. — The bugle is absolutely necessary to illustrate the beauties of Killarney. 
To enjoy the Lakes, it is essential to awake their echoes. The bugler usually acts as 
cockswain to the boat : his fee is 5s. Several of them are in attendance at the inns. The 
brothers Spillane take the lead at the Yictoria ; but when the elder Spillane can be obtained, 
he is an accession of great value ; not only for his musical skill, but for his long experience 
and intimate acquaintance with all matters that appertain to the Lakes. His son Stephen, 
however, as we have elsewhere observed, is not unworthy to succeed him. The buglers 
usually act also as guides ; and in such cases of course but one charge is made — 5s. 
a day. 

The Cannon. — This seems an odd item of expense. It is necessary, however, to state 
that a shilling is charged for each shot that wakes the echoes at the Eagle's Nest ; or in the 
Gap of B'onloe, Qd. 

We believe there is no show place in the world where so little extortion is practised, — 
where the pocket of the Tourist is less liable to the assaults of persons, who, seeing him 
once, never expect to see him again. 



^npttlar Wntfa u SrBlnuJt. 



New Edition, in Three Volumes, super-royal octavo, price Zl. 3s. cloth gilt, 

IRELAND : 

ITS SCENERY, CHARACTER, &c. 

Br MR. and MRS. S. C. HALL. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH FORTY-EIGHT STEEL ENGRAVINGS, 

AFTER DRAWINGS BY T. CRESWICK, A.R.A. AND OTHERS. 

Five Hundred exquisite Wood Engravings, and Eighteen Maps of the Counties. 




SHANE'S CASTLE, ANTRIM. 

Tbe Authors have laboured with zeal and industry to obtain such topographical and statistical information as 
may be useful to those who visit Ireland, or who desire the means of judging correctly as to its capabilities and 
condition. But their especial duty has been to associate with more important details such incidents, descriptions, 
legends, traditions, and personal sketches, as may excite interest in those who might be deterred from the perusal 
of mere facts, if communicated in a less popular form. 



THE 



In Two Volumes quarto, price 31. 3s. cloth gilt, 

SCENERY AND ANTIQUITIES OF IRELAND, 

By S. STIRLING COYNE. 

Illustrated in One Hundred and Twenty Steel Engravings, 

From Drawings by W. H. Bartlett, and Engraved by Willmore, Cousen, Brandard, &c. 



AN HISTORICAL AND PICTURESQUE GUIDE TO 

THE BLACKWATER RIVER, IN MUNSTER. 

By J. R. O'Flanagan, Esq. With Fifty-five Engravings. Small 4to. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
LONDON : VIRTUE & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



■ r 24 8 

2* 



JQJ 















,\V ; Ks V 



A" 









*b o x 






t tf 






V 









.v * 




d5 -u 



vOo. 



^r. *• 



^ / 



~v 




,0 o 



' V ■ ' *^^ ^ - - \V 








^Oo. 



<^ * 8 i ^ 




•% c' 



,^" 










,^% 




.•V s * 






/'%, 



•\ 



W 



^** 








/' ^ ^ 









\V 







0° \ 






f >- V* 






1 ■ \> - 









"> ' 



- A- 



V 






















N ' \V ">. * « | ■ 

^!> - ^ - A* 



\ U ^ 














•\ 



<,% 








1 \ .-. ^ "; 




^ -n, x°°- 






^% 



IWBm 

m 




IIP 



■ 

m 

mm 
lIlIHlHP 

"MffflMin nfffflfflffilW 



1K_ 

m 



I ftwWB 

'j'i iwifinAAJyif tin ji 



HUH ■;■■■. 

H9HHHI 81 111 



em 



Ail 



Hf 



■■■I 



■ 11 



Dmtnfl 










nil 




KV 



■■■■ ■.':Vf>;-v.-. 

■HHHIHH1 



